


The Journey-Chapter One

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, F/M, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-11
Updated: 2010-02-11
Packaged: 2019-05-30 21:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 40,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15105536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A few years into their marriage and justbeginning the second term of a Santosadministration, Josh is called upon to makean incredible trip and some incrediblesacrifices....and Donna is worried that hislife might be one of them.





	1. The Journey-Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Disclaimer: These wonderful characters do not belong to me...never have...never will...I'm just having some fun with my imagination.  
AN: It's just something that came to me....I am in no way a phenomenal writer, but like to share my stuff.  


* * *

“No, Josh,” Donna said with conviction. “Are you hearing what I am saying to you? I don’t want you to do this.”

“Donna, I’m sorry,” he had just walked in the door from an extra long day at the office and she was there, waiting for him.

“Don’t apologize. Just listen to me and don’t go.” She was following him down the hallway to their room.

“Donna, I have to go,” he tossed his coat onto the bed and turned to his wife who was standing her ground.

“No, Josh, you don’t have to go,” she shook her head.

“Yes, Donna, I do. We can’t just sit here and watch! There are thousands of people dying every day!”

“You don’t think I know that?!? I just don’t want you to be one of them.”

“I don’t want to fight with you about this,”

“Then don’t Josh, please,” She pleaded. They had been married for two years and were just coming into President Santos’ second term. Things were going well. They were loving life. Josh’s recent assignment, however, was the point of much contention

“This is my job, Donna. You know that. This has never been a problem before, why is it a problem now?” He spread his hands out in front of him.

“Because,” she started and then stopped. She looked down at her hands and swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Because this time it’s dangerous. Because this time it’s not you staying late or being away from home for weeks at a time, or working out your frustrations with your staff at home. This time it’s you walking into a war zone. You get that right? There are bullets flying everywhere. There are daily sieges and more than once, American diplomats have been the target of terrorist attacks.”

“Donna,” he started.

“It’s different this time, Josh and you know it is.” She pointed her finger at him and stomped a foot. Despite the conversation and despite her anger and what he felt was her overreacting, he still thought she looked awfully cute when she was upset.

“I know it’s dangerous. I know that Donna. But I’m going to have my regular Secret Service protection. I’m going to be with the United States Marines. I am not going to be walking around having lattes at the local corner café.” He threw his hands in the air.

“That’s great, Josh, make jokes.”

“I’m not joking, I’m just want you to keep in mind…”

“And I want you to keep in mind what happened the last time one of us went to the Middle East.” That did it. That got his attention. His posture softened.

“Donna,” he said quietly. He went to her and pulled her into his arms. “I do remember what happened the last time one of us went to the Middle East. I will never forget what happened when you went to Gaza…” he kissed the top of her head.

“Please don’t go there Josh. Please just tell the President that you can’t.”

“You know I can’t do that. He has asked me to go and even if he hadn’t asked me to go, I would have recommended it to him when it came up. I can’t send Sam, we need somebody with a little more pull. I can’t recommend that the President go because if it doesn’t work than the leader of the free world is out there on a limb.”

“So it’s better for you to be out there on the limb?” Donna interrupted pulling away from him.

“You know it is. Donna, that’s my job. I go out on that limb for the President,” he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t know what to say to her. He knew she wouldn’t be thrilled that the President was sending him to the Middle East. He knew that she would be upset and worried, and rightly so. But he did expect her to handle it a little differently. He had expected her to understand how this worked and that he couldn’t just walk into the Oval Office and refuse this request because his wife was going to be worried about him. He had expected her to be upset, but to come to terms with it and wish him luck on this trip. He had made some very large assumptions that were now showing to be completely false.

“Josh,” she moved closer to him, pulling his hands into hers. “I want you to hear what I’m saying. I want you to listen to me and hear what I’m saying,” their eyes locked. “It’s me you’re talking to. I am not irrational! I’m not one of those crazy women who freaks out about your job! I have been devoted to two administrations. Of all people I understand your commitment to this job. I understand your commitment to the President. I understand that you are willing to fall on a sword to protect the office. I have never, not once, questioned or complained about your devotion to this. I have never started a fight when you come home at two in the morning. I have not once been one of those wives who is constantly asking you where you’ve been or question you when you tell me you’re working late at the office or be upset when you can’t tell me what it is you’re working on. Not once have I come to you and asked you to give up any part of this commitment that you have  
made. Not once have I asked you to place me higher on your list of priorities…”

“You are higher on my list of priorities,” he insisted.

“I am asking you right now, please Josh, please put me higher than the President on this one. Please let THIS commitment come before the one you have to the White House. Just this once, Josh.”

She knew he could see her eyes well up with tears and she was mad at herself because of it. She didn’t want this to come down to tears. She wasn’t trying to manipulate him into passing on the Middle Eastern trip. She wanted to discuss it with her husband and have him see her point and agree to stay, on his own freewill, without the tears. But she couldn’t help herself. She was afraid. She was afraid that her pleas would fall on deaf ears, not because Josh didn’t care, but because he was right. This was his job. She was well aware of his commitment to President Santos when she agreed to marry him. It was part of what she loved and adored about him. But now wasn’t a time for that. The violence in the Middle East had blown out of control during the past few months. She knew that this was President Santos’ last ditch effort for peace and she knew very well why they were sending Josh. He was the last person they could send and possibly the only one who could get  
it done. He had spent years pushing and pulling with congressmen and women. Serving as Chief of Staff, he had fine-tuned his diplomatic skills. He was vital to whatever chance there was for a peaceful resolve in the area. She had even suspected that he would be called in at some point. But that morning when it was announced, she wasn’t prepared. She wasn’t ready for the words. And now here they were, in their bedroom where they had spent so many years loving each other, and he was denying her pleas and he would be packing and going, despite her very best efforts.

“Donna,” he sat on the bed and pulled her down next to him. “I don’t know what to say…”

“Say you’ll stay,” she whispered.

“You know that I can’t,” he looked down at their hands and entertwined fingers. “This is so important, Donna. There are literally tens of thousands of peopled under siege every day. Children are being executed Donna, children. I know that it’s dangerous and I know that you’re worried. And God help me, if they were sending you, I would be down on my knees right now pleading with you to stay. But in the end, I have to go. I have to go…and not just because the President says I do, but because I feel that I have to go. If there is something, anything I can do to help these people find a peaceful agreement, to stop the craziness, then I have to go and do it. I wouldn’t be me if I stayed. I wouldn’t be the guy you fell in love with and I wouldn’t be the man you married. And Donna, you know that…deep down below the hate you are feeling for me right now…”

“I do not hate you Josh,” she interrupted.

“I know you don’t.”

“I love you Josh.”

“I know that too.” They fell into silence. Donna took a deep breath and stood. He watched her as she walked to the window and looked out into the night.

“You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important…” she trailed off.

“Yes, I know. And you know I wouldn’t insist on going if it weren’t important.”

“I know…” She sighed and turned to face him. He looked terrible. She knew that this would tear him up; this conflict between his obligations to her and his obligations to Matt Santos, the White House, his job. The conflict was registering on his face in the form of lines and wrinkles. She had not wanted to cause him anguish. She had only wanted him to listen to her. She had hoped against all odds that he would stay. Deep down she knew better. “You’re going to go aren’t you?”

“Donna,” he stood and walked to her.

“Josh,” she searched his face with her eyes. He looked down at his hands and then back up at her. He nodded slowly.

“I have to go.”

“Okay,” she surrendered. She had tried. She had tried to reason and had tried to plead, but in the end, her assumptions were right. Josh felt obligated to go and he was going to follow through on those feelings.

“Please don’t be angry with me,” he looked to her for a sign.

“I’m not angry with you,” she shook her head slowly. “When do you leave?” Her voice was quiet as reality sunk in.

“A week from today,” he whispered.

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. They seem to think at least two weeks, no longer than a month. But there’s no way to tell for sure.”

“Okay,” she sniffed, summoned all of her courage, and smiled at her husband. She made eye contact and warned, “Josh Lyman, if you do not come back to me in one piece…if anything, and I mean anything happens to you over there…I swear to God…it will stun and amaze everyone involved when they meet the wrath of Donna Lyman.” He chuckled lightly. “I mean it Josh. I want you to get over there, work it out, and get your ass back home to me. Got it?”

“Yes,” Josh smiled at her.

“Joshua Lyman,” she warned.

“I get it Donna. I promise I will come back to you, all in one piece,” he pulled his wife into his arms. Her body molded to his as he stroked her hair.

“One week?” She raised her eyebrows.

“One week,” he nodded.

“Okay…”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. The Journey-Chapter Two

It had been a long day and an unbearably long night. He had tossed and turned and tried to sleep, but it was 3:37am and he had been awake for almost an hour. He couldn’t sleep. He looked over at his wife and was pleased to see that she was sleeping.

They had just found out that day that he would be leaving for the Middle East and he had spent the entire day, and most of the night in the situation room and in meetings with the NSC to begin prepping him for all he would encounter. He had been sure that when he got home Donna would be sleeping. He was wrong. She had been up and waiting for him. He should have known. He hated fighting with her, about anything, much less this. The argument and the crying must have worn her out, because next to his sleepless body, Donna was snoring lightly. He smiled softly and reached out to touch her hair that was shining in the moonlight.

As quietly as he could, he slid out of their bed. If he wasn’t going to sleep, he might as well get some work done. He shuffled out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind him. He turned on his laptop to warm up and made his way to the kitchen. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t had time to eat all day and he was starving. The fluorescent lights made the room bright. He held a hand up to shield his eyes. After a moment, he peeked out and opened the refrigerator. After studying the shelves for a few moments he pulled out some leftover lasagna and popped it in the microwave. He leaned back against the counter as he waited for the buzzer.

He couldn’t believe all that was happening and how fast it was happening. He knew things were getting out of hand in the Middle East. He worked at the White House, not that anyone who watched the news didn’t know what was going on over there. It was all anybody spoke about anymore. Everywhere he went; work, home, the gym, even the lady who sold him coffee in the mornings. Everyone was weighing in on the state of affairs and almost everyone thought they had a solution. He smirked to himself. If it were that easy, they would have solved it so long ago. It was amazing to him that there were people out there who believed that the resolution to the conflict was so simple and who also believed that there would be some ungodly reason that President Santos was not willing to do what was so simple. He shook his head.

He knew this was eating the President as well. He saw the look of horror in his eyes every time more casualties were announced. He saw him arguing and pleading while in the situation room. Once, when they were given information about a bombing at an orphanage, he even saw the man break down and cry. It had just been the two of them and they had been literally up all night and they were alone in the Oval Office and it had just been too much. Josh knew that this was eating at the President and he knew how difficult it had been for him to come to Josh that morning and tell him to go over there. He knew the President was desperate, otherwise he would not have asked. But Josh also knew that this was a desperate situation. And for them to sit idly by while it continued to escalate was not an option. They just couldn’t do that anymore. The President had suggested he go himself, but both he and Josh knew that was not an option. Josh had to go. So, when the President  
came to him with furrowed brow and sad eyes, Josh had told him yes. And when Donna came to him with her pleas, he had told her no. He hated himself for making her plead with him to stay. He hated the fear that was in her voice and the defeat that he saw in her eyes when she realized her pleas were useless.

The microwave buzzed and Josh removed his plate and went to the dining room table. He flipped through his emails while he picked at the lasagna. There were multiple emails from his assistant indicating schedule changes for the next week. The second it had been decided that Josh would be going, his regular schedule was turned upside down. Many of his meetings were already being re-assigned to Sam and Lou and even Bram. Sam would be stepping into Josh’s role while he was out.

The Secret Service was assigning a few additional agents to his detail for this trip. They would also be placing an agent with Donna. He hadn’t told her that yet, and he knew she was going to be less than thrilled. But they had insisted. He was going to be in the middle of the most dangerous area in the world right now. They were afraid that while he was away, while he was over there making negotiations and at times, threats, that somebody would try to use Donna to get to him. That was the only moment throughout the day when he had truly questioned if he was doing the right thing. He was okay with putting himself out there. He was okay with stepping into the chaos on his own. But it was a totally different story when it came to her. He couldn’t handle the thought of something happening to her, at least not as a result of his decisions. He had dealt with that feeling once before when he sent her to Gaza, when he almost lost her. He couldn’t deal with that  
feeling again. He shivered and went back to his email. There was one from his mother.

He would have to tell his mother. He didn’t know how he was going to tell his mother. He had planned on telling her that day, but everything had happened so fast that before he even had time to process it, he was home, fighting with Donna. He couldn’t imagine the fight his mother would put up. After he had been shot during the Bartlet administration, his mother had hoped that he would be done putting himself in danger. She had hoped he would soon be done with this crazy world he was in. She had wanted him to settle down, get married, give her some grandchildren. He smiled thinking about her. Regardless of her hopes and her pressures, he knew she loved him deeply and that she understood him. He had a small glimmer of hope that she would understand this and give him her blessing. He looked up at the clock. It was 4:23am and he knew his mother would be up in another hour. He would call her then. She would need to know soon, before anyone else told her. He would  
call her first thing in the morning.

Josh turned back to his computer. He began composing an email to his lawyer. The NSC point person had instructed Josh to be sure that his papers were all in order before he left. Once he had realized what the man meant, Josh had had to sit down. He knew it was all taken care of. He and Donna had been each other’s beneficiaries for quite some time. Their apartment, his old apartment, was in her name now too. The life insurance policy was up to date and he had seen to it that the trust his father had left him would be left to her if something happened to him. But, to be sure, to be safe, he sent a quick letter to his lawyer. It was the very least he could do.  
He spent the next hour finishing up emails and sending things out. His eyelids were growing heavier. He turned off his computer and stretched his arms out and yawned. He should go back to bed. He knew he needed the sleep. He knew that the next day and every day leading up to his departure, were going to be very long and very rigorous days; mentally and emotionally. He knew he should go to sleep. He took his plate back to the kitchen and walked back into the living room. He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and looked out over the room. His eyes fell on all of the things that made this his home; his running shoes sitting by the front door, his ratty old Harvard sweatshirt flung over the back of Donna’s big, comfy, oversized chair, the book she had been reading, a legal pad he used to jot down thoughts that went through his mind while he was at home. His eyes made their way to the bookshelf. Mixed among the books and magazines that were stacked were small  
unique frames with photos in them, photos of him and Donna and their friends and families. She was so good at keeping them together; the friends and families. She did such a great job making sure they were a part of his life, a part of their life.

He glanced at the clock again. It was 5:13am. She was up by now. She was probably having tea on her patio. He took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Settling into Donna’s big, comfy chair, he dialed her number.

“Hello?” Her voice was surprised at the early phone call, but cheery nonetheless.

“Mom, it’s Josh,” his voice was soft. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

TO BE CONTINUED….


	3. The Journey-Chapter Three

The loud wailing of Meatloaf’s “Anything for Love” jarred Donna from her restful sleep. She hated that song. Groaning, she reached her hand out from under the warm blankets and turned off the alarm clock. It read 5:37am. She opened her eyes and looked around the room. It was a cloudy morning and she could see a light rain outside the window. Her husband was already out of bed. She listened for the shower, but heard nothing. Stretching, she sat up on the edge of the bed, pulling Josh’s socks onto her cold feet. She made her way sleepily to the living room. She could smell the coffee already brewing having set the timer the night before. She flipped on the TV to CNN and glanced at the floor beside the front door. His shoes were gone. He was out running. She smiled to herself.

She loved their routine. They had become so predictable. She would set the coffee timer at night. He would wake up before her and go for a run. She would wake, turn on the television and read a few pages from her book while the coffee brewed. Once he returned, they would both be awake. They would have a light breakfast and then shower; first her and then him. Some mornings they would conserve water and shower together. There were, of course, those mornings when he had to be in early, or she had a meeting across town. Those mornings would mess up their routine, but not today. She had woken up to the smell of coffee and he was out running. She was thankful for the routine today. It reminded her of the connection they had and the balance they had formed. She pulled Josh’s ratty old Harvard sweatshirt over her head, lounged in her chair and flipped open her book.

As her eyes scanned the pages, she couldn’t help but be distracted by the voices of the news anchors as they discussed the newsworthy events of the day. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them flash a map of the Middle East. She placed the old postcard she was using as a bookmark back into her book. Sitting up, she turned up the volume on the television. They were talking about the war and the terror that was multiplying. They were flashing photos and clips of horrific disaster areas caused by bombings and slayings. She watched in stunned silence as they toured a neighborhood where there had been a park. The swings at the park had blood splattered on them. The makeshift basketball court was demolished by a bomb that had dropped in earlier that week. She saw grandfathers, mothers, and children lined up in an infirmary waiting for desperately needed medical attention. Her breath was caught as they flashed footage of the riots and the shooting and the maimings.

Her mind raced and she moved to the edge of her seat. When the news story was over, they anchor moved from Middle Eastern conflict straight to who was winning the latest “singing star” reality show that she and Josh hated so much. She flipped off the television and sat there, thinking.

Two very distinct feelings were overwhelming her. The first was an amazing since of pride. She was so terribly proud of what Josh was doing. She was so terribly proud of the sacrifices her husband had made and was continuing to make to do his part to improve human conditions. Many in the world held a belief that people like Josh sought positions like his because they were seeking the power and prestige. That may be true for some, and even true to some extent for Josh many, many years ago. But she had known him for a long time. She had watched him learn and grow and become who he was today. And she knew, without a doubt, that Josh’s pursuit of his line of work, of his past and current positions were truly intrinsically motivated.

As those images of those children and the fighting were burned into her brain, she felt an all encompassing pride in her husband and in what he was setting out to do. And in that same fowl swoop, she felt ashamed. She was ashamed of herself; of the way she had acted, of the things she had said to him, and of the pleas she had made. It was out of line and completely out of character for her. She had never tried to stop him from doing his job. She had never once gone to him and asked him to give up or take on something for her. They didn’t work that way. They had a deep and profound love and respect for each other and they did not play dirty. And last night, when she had pleaded with him to stay, when she had felt the tears in her eyes, when she had insinuated that the President was higher on his priority list than her…that had been playing dirty. And for that she was ashamed.

She went to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. As she stirred in some cream, she thought back over the events of the last twenty-four hours. She knew she should not have confronted Josh the way she had, but all she had done was think about it; from the moment she was told till the moment he got home.

She had been called to the Roosevelt Room for a joint staff meeting yesterday morning. Since the bombing of the orphanage that fateful night not too long ago, the First Lady had become actively involved in the President’s pursuit for peace. That being said, Donna and her crew were becoming a more common staple in the West Wing. That morning they had been called over for an emergency meeting. She had known it was going to be about the Middle Eastern conflict, but she had not been prepared for what was coming. There she sat at the meeting and was told, along with all of the other staff members, that Josh would be joining Secretary Arnold Vinick on a vital mission to the Middle East. It made sense that he was going. Josh had been involved with this particular area of foreign policy since President Bartlet’s administration. The continuity and contacts Josh had made him the perfect companion for Secretary Vinick who was wielding his own diplomatic powers. Over the  
years the President had developed a profound trust and admiration for these two men. They would be leaving the following week.

Donna had just sat there and received the news along with Sam, Lou, Bram, Otto, and the others. She and Josh had worked so diligently to make sure their relationship was not part of the equation at work. But hearing the announcement there in the West Wing, along with all of the other staff members was a shock to her system. As soon as the meeting was over, and before Josh could pull her aside to check in and explain, he was whisked off to briefings and meetings. He had been pulled immediately from the meeting and she had not seen him or spoke to him for the entire day, until he walked through their door that night. Donna could admit that, yes, she had overreacted and had gone just a tad overboard with asking Josh to stay. But she could credit that partially to other factors that had been at play with her mind that day. She had been told that her husband was leaving and had the rest of the day to mill it over without talking to him about it. She had had the rest of  
the day to watch the news and read the papers and field questions about the Middle Eastern conflict. The one her husband was being sent off to.

Donna sipped her coffee and went back to the living room. It had been a rough day for her, but now, with a few hours of sleep and some perspective all that she was left with was the pride she had for Josh, the shame she felt for pushing him, and the knowledge and conviction that he was doing the right thing and that her role; as his wife and as his partner, was to support him in this.

As soon as she sat back down in her chair, the front door opened and a winded and slightly wet Josh stumbled in. His eyes immediately sought hers and he was met with a smile. He returned her smile with one of his own as he tugged his shoes off his feet and sat them in their usual spot. Their gaze and their movements spoke volumes about their understanding for one another. He was thrilled beyond belief to see her sitting in that chair with his sweater on and a cup of coffee in her hand. This was their routine and he had hoped on his way back from his run that the routine would not be interrupted that morning. It was why he had pulled himself out of bed after only sleeping for a little under an hour. It was why he had gone for the run despite the rain. It was why now, before kissing her, he went to the bathroom to shed his wet clothes and pull on some warm ones. When he emerged using a towel to pat his wet hair, he went to the kitchen, poured his coffee and joined  
her in the living room. He could tell by watching her that she had relaxed quite a bit from the night before. He was still unsure about where she stood on the issue and he didn’t want to push. So he took a seat on the couch and gave her the space for her thoughts.

Donna pulled her legs up underneath her and sat her coffee on the table next to her, before speaking,

“Josh, I am so sorry about last…”

“Please don’t do that,” he interrupted raising his hand. He was not usually that demanding, but he knew where this was headed. “We don’t have to do this. There is absolutely no reason for you to apologize for last night. None. You did nothing wrong.”

“But, Josh,” she started again.

“I’m not messing around, Donna. That’s not how we do it. We don’t apologize for our feelings, especially when they are justified. Let’s not do this. Let’s not start this now.”

“Okay,” she breathed. “I won’t apologize. But I do want to talk about it.”

“That, we do,” he smiled. “I know that yesterday was difficult. I know that I should have told you about the trip before he announced it at the meeting, but I didn’t have time to get to you. And then the second that meeting was over, I was pulled every direction for the rest of the day. It wasn’t right, how you found out. I know we made deals with each other…and that this was probably the first time we’ve broken that deal. I know that yesterday must have just been crazy, Donna. And for that,”

“You don’t need to apologize either,” she interrupted him this time, but she was smiling. “Yesterday was rough. And you’re right. It was difficult to hear that you were leaving like that. And when you were pulled away…all I had to do all day was think about it and run through every nightmare scenario in my mind,” she took a deep breath and leaned toward him. “I am not going to lie to you right now. I am scared. I am scared to death of what’s going on over there. And the thought of you going over there…”

“I know,” he said softly, looking down at the cup in his hands.

“You’re right though.” He looked up at her, eyebrows raised.

“I am?” She stood and moved to sit next to him on the couch.

“This isn’t us. And we did make a deal. I should never have come to you like I did last night. I should never have put you in that position. I know better than that. I know you better than that,” she placed her hand on his cheek and he leaned toward her touch. “I will not ask you to stay again.”

“Oh?” He raised his eyebrows and sighed.

“Never.”

“I know we’ve discussed the nature of this job before…and all that I would be called upon to do; the late hours, the trips, the meetings. I said it when I we first were married and I’ll say it again; if you don’t want me to do this, tell me and I will hand him my letter of resignation today. I mean it, Donna. Just say the word. But I can’t be the Chief of Staff and not do this. I can’t be in a position to help and not help. I just can’t.” He grabbed her hand and held it in his.

“I know,” she smiled, patted his knee and stood to go for more coffee. “And I want you to know that you have me on this.”

“I have you on this?” He questioned.

“Yes, you have me. You have me on your side. You have me on board. You have me in your corner,” she stopped just before she left the room and turned to meet his eyes. “Josh this, this commitment, this sacrifice that you made is all a part of what I love and adore about you the most. This is who you are. This is what you do. You care about people and if you see a way to help, then you are the first one to jump on board. You wouldn’t be you without it. I don’t want you giving that up for anything, especially because I’m a little afraid. And I sure as hell don’t want you questioning yourself on this. I know you have to go. I know that it’s not only what you have to do, but it is the right thing to do. I do not want you going over there doubting that. And I want you to know, beyond a doubt, that I am in this with you Josh.” She stood tall and her voice was steady with her convictions. She smiled softly and slipped into the kitchen.

He didn’t know what to say. As a rule, they were not typically the mushy sort of romantics. They were romantic, sure, but not in a great big teddy bear and candy on Valentine’s Day kind of way. Their relationship was different than that. Their romance was different than that. And this, what Donna had just said to him, was one of the most romantic things he had heard in a long time. He sat his cup on the coffee table as he stood and followed her to the kitchen. He walked up behind her where she stood facing the counter, stirring her coffee. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a warm kiss on her neck as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“You’re perfect for me you know,” he held her tight.

“I know,” she placed her arms over his and leaned back against his chest and smiled.

“As long as you know.”

“It’s getting later. If we’re going to make it on time, I have to get in the shower,” she turned around in his arms.

“Mind if I join you?” He smiled deeply.

She simply returned his grin with one of her own. Josh dipped his head and kissed her deeply before taking her hand and pulling her down the hall to the bathroom. He knew that their lives were about to be turned upside down. He knew that once they made it to the office and he was pulled to meetings and she was meeting with the Secret Service about her detail that a series of events would be set into motion that would be taking him away on this Journey with Arnold Vinick to the Middle East. He knew that both he and Donna would be tried in the upcoming weeks, possibly months. But he knew she was there and she was with him and that this morning, after the crazy day before, they had climbed out of bed and into their routine. And he knew that today was going to be one of those days when they conserved water.

TO BE CONTINUED….


	4. The Journey-Chapter Four

“To be honest, if you run into any problems, just check with Liz. She has me completely organized,” Josh and Sam were meeting in the Chief of Staff’s office going over final details for Josh’s trip. “Trust Lou with any message decisions, she knows what she’s doing. Don’t freak out if the staff is a little moody, they’ll listen to you. And for God’s sake, don’t let Bram go out with that woman from payroll again. The last time he did that we had to listen to him moan about her pesky cat for weeks,” Josh was running through the list of things for Sam to keep in mind. His plane was scheduled to take off at 7:30am the following day. He had spent countless hours at the office preparing the staff and himself for his departure. Sam was ready to go. Sam knew it. Josh knew it. The office would be in good hands.

“Got it,” Sam nodded as he looked over his notes from that day’s meeting.

“Sam, the President,” Josh’s voice lowered and Sam looked up to his friend. “This madness in the Middle East is really hitting him hard. You need to be his clear head. You need to be the rational one. Since the bombing at the orphanage…it’s taken all I’ve had to reel him in some days.”

“I’ll be his clear head,” Sam said with a small amount of trepidation in his voice. “Josh?”

“Yeah?” He raised his eyebrows.

“You’ll be careful, right? I mean, no hero tactics, right?” Sam was a little scared and Josh was more than a little touched.

“I wish people would stop acting like I was digging my own grave here. Seriously, I’m going over there with the strongest military force in the world, to say nothing for the Secret Service. Secretary Vinick is really going to be the one with his face plastered everywhere, not me. I wish everyone would just relax.” He did. More for their own good than his. He knew it was dangerous, but he also knew that his chances of getting hurt were slim. There were men going with him and the Secretary who were on the trip specifically to stand between them and harm.

“Okay,” Sam thought for a moment. “Enough of that then. We’ve been going at this forever. We need a break. I’m going to head back to my office for a while.” Sam stood to leave.

“Thank you,” Josh smiled at his friend. “Wait, Sam, one more thing.” Sam turned around and Josh stood.

“What’s that?”

“Donna.”

“Donna?” Sam was confused.

“Donna,” Josh looked down at his hands for a moment. “Sam, if something does happen…”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Josh.”

“I know, but if something should happen,” Josh’s eyes fogged over for just a moment and he swallowed a lump in his throat. “Could you…would you…”

“Josh?” Sam’s voice was quiet and soothing.

“I need you to be the one to tell Donna,” Josh hurried before Sam could say anything. “Don’t let them send the secret service, or some guy in military dress. Don’t let the President call her first. I need you to be there when she hears it. She trusts you and loves you…”

“Josh,”

“I’m serious, Sam. If something happens,” Josh ran a hand through his hair. “She’s been great. Really supportive…and if she’s still afraid, she’s not showing it. But, if something terrible goes down and I don’t come back…I need it to be you…”

“It will be.” Sam put his hand on Josh’s shoulder and squeezed. “I promise. It will be.”

“Thank you.” Josh put his hand over Sam’s for just a split second before the two men broke for the morning.

* * * * * *

Donna sat in her office reading, for the fourth time, the First Lady’s agenda for the next month. She had several speaking engagements and meetings that Donna was supposed to screen and approve. Even though her assistant was waiting for the okay, Donna could not seem to focus. Since the night of Josh’s announcement and her eminent emotional freak out, Donna had gained control and come to more rational lines of thought. Was she still worried? Sure. But she had meant what she said. She and Josh and made plans and deals and she loved him and respected him too much to pull any punches when it came to this journey he was about to embark upon.

Even so, he was leaving the next morning and she was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the work at hand. The last week had been a whirlwind of events. He had worked late virtually every night. He had come in on both Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday there was another suicide bombing down the street from the exact place that Josh and Secretary Vinick were heading. The team had been called in on a Sunday to update, brief, and prepare. Under Presidential orders, both she and Josh were to leave the office no later than five that evening. President Santos had insisted they have at least one evening to themselves before Josh was sent off.

“Donna?” It was Anabeth. As Donna snapped back from her thoughts, she wondered just how long Anabeth had been standing there.

“Hello,” she smiled at her colleague and friend.

“Can I?” Anabeth motioned towards the couch in Donna’s office.

“Of course,” Donna nodded and joined her in the sitting area.

“Have you had a chance to review the First Lady’s schedule?”

“Funny you should ask,” Donna smiled. “I have been looking over it; again and again, but it’s just not registering…” She threw her hands up in defeat.

“Josh is leaving tomorrow?” Anabeth asked, although she knew very well what the answer was.

“Yes,” Donna nodded.

“The schedule can wait.”

“Yes, I suppose it can,” Donna shrugged. “I’ll pull it together tomorrow.”

“You’re coming in tomorrow?” Anabeth raised her eyebrows, surprised.

“Of course.”

“But…”

“His plane leaves at seven-thirty. If I go home and sit there…what would I do? Watch TV? I will drive myself crazy. I need to be here. I have something to do here.” Donna was convinced it was the best course of action.

“Of course,” Anabeth smiled. She knew what it was like to cope. “You’re holding up very well.”

“Yeah?” Donna asked confused. “Are you expecting me to breakdown?”

“Not necessarily,” Anabeth shook her head. “I just imagine it would be difficult to know that he’s going, where he’s going, and what he’s going to do while he’s there…”

“But this is Josh’s…”

“Job?” Anabeth interrupted.

“No,” Donna shook her head. “It’s his life.”

“So are you,” Anabeth pointed out.

“Yes, I am.” Donna thought for a moment. “And he’s mine.”

A moment of silence passed between them. Donna finally spoke, “when I was in college, I had this friend. Her name was Heather and she had this little test that she would give to her boyfriends…when they started to get serious.”

“A test?”

“She wanted to be sure that they would be supportive of her hopes and her dreams, even the ones that did not pertain to them,” Donna crossed her legs. “So when things started to get serious she would slip into the conversation that she had always wanted to climb Mount Everest.”

“Mount Everest?”

“Yes. And then she would wait for their response. If they went on and on about the risks and the difficulties, she thought that meant they would hold her back. If they suggested that they go with her or that they were interested, she felt like they would be too eager to be a part of absolutely everything she did. If they whined about missing her or about what would happen to ‘them’, then he would be too possessive.”

“Okay…” She wasn’t sure where Donna was heading with this.

“Back then, I wasn’t sure if there would ever be a ‘correct’ answer to her little test. I couldn’t imagine ever using it myself,” Donna smiled wistfully. “But, not too long after Josh and I began dating, right about the time we were starting to get serious…for some reason Heather’s test came to mind. Maybe it was because of our history. Maybe it was because I wanted to be sure he would support the things that I wanted to do with my career. One night, while we were out, I let it slip into the conversation that I wanted to climb Mount Everest.”

“And how did he answer?” She was curious.

“You know, I don’t really remember,” Donna laughed and shook her head. “But that year, for Christmas, Josh gave me this great all-weather, sub-zero temperature coat, a book on preparing to climb Mount Everest, and this amazing map of base camp and the best trail to the top. And when he gave it to me he didn’t tell me that he thought it was too dangerous, he didn’t tell me that he wanted to come. He didn’t ask what would happen to ‘us’ if I went. He just beamed as I opened it and he told me how he had found some people who had made the trek and would be more than willing to meet with me about my climb.”

“Wow. I guess that was the right answer.”

“Yes, it was.” Donna nodded and grew serious. “He showed me then that he was going to support my dreams full force, regardless of what it meant for him or for us…it was important to him that I achieve my goals. You see, it sealed the deal. That’s the kind of person I want to be married to…and that’s the kind of person that I want Josh to be married to…” Donna stood and went back to her desk. “So, I’m going to not be worried about what this will do to me or to us. If this is what he wants, what he needs to do, than I am going to find him his sub-zero jacket and map of the base camp.”

“Okay,” Anabeth stood and walked towards the door. “If there’s anything I can…”

“I know,” Donna smiled tenderly at her friend. “And thank you.”

“Of course,” Anabeth nodded and left Donna alone in her office. She glanced up at the clock. In five hours, she and Josh would be mandated to leave the White House. And in nineteen, Josh would be boarding a plane that would carry him across an ocean and into “the trenches.” Donna shook the thought from her head and turned back to the First Lady’s agenda…again.

TO BE CONTINUED….


	5. The Journey-Chapter Five

It was raining. The soft pitter pat of the rain drops hitting the window and the random rumbles of thunder were what lured Donna’s mind to wake her body up. Through one half-opened eye she peered at the clock. The bright red numbers flashed 3:37. It was dark and there was a thunderstorm at work outside. It was 3:37 in the morning. He would be leaving in exactly three hours and twenty-three minutes. She instinctively stretched her hand out to touch him. Her hand felt nothing. She opened both eyes to look at Josh’s side of the bed. She sat up and looked around the room. The night before they had gone out to dinner, had some wine, and then came home to spend time together. As much as they tried to act like it was just another night, Josh’s pending departure was the large pink elephant in the corner of the room. They had taken a bath together, made love, and went to sleep. Well, they had tried to go to sleep. Donna had tossed and turned for an hour or so before  
drifting off to a restless sleep. As she climbed out of bed and wrapped her robe around her, she was sure Josh was just as restless.

She found him in the living room. He stood near the window, leaning against the frame and starring out at the light show provided by the storm. He glanced back at her when he heard her enter the room. She smiled back and moved closer. His face clearly indicated he was doing some serious thinking; his jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed, his forehead wrinkled. It softened slightly upon seeing her, but he remained contemplative as he turned back to the window. Donna stood a few feet away from him, wanting to allow him space for his feelings, but wanting him to know that she was there.

“I’m scared,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Josh,” she felt a lump in her throat.

“I mean it, Donna. I’m really scared.”

“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. You said yourself; you’re going with the Secret Service, with the US military…”

“It’s not that…” He trailed off hugging his arms close to his body. “What if we get all the way over there…and we spend all this time…and in the end, we do nothing…and it all stays the same…”

Oh my God, she thought. He’s not afraid of getting hurt. He’s afraid of failing. She felt tears come to her eyes.

“Hey,” she placed her hand on his arm.

“Ask me to stay,” he turned to her quickly.

“What?”

“Ask me to stay,” his face was frantic. “If you ask me to stay…if you tell me not to go…I’ll stay. I won’t go. And then I won’t have to…”

“Stop Josh,” she interrupted shaking her head. “I am not going to ask you to stay. I made that mistake once and I won’t do it again.”

“But if you…”

“No,” she wrapped her arms around him. “I know you’re afraid, Josh. You’re leaving here in a few hours and you’re starting to worry…that you’re not enough…”

“Donna,” he hugged her close. “I mean it…what if it’s not enough.”

“Josh…I can’t think of anyone more dedicated to this than you. If you’re not enough…then nobody is.”

“I just…” He trailed off, not knowing the words to put with his feelings. “I know that my reputation around here is that I’m eternally confident, eternally cocky…it’s just, with this…I don’t know…”

“You’re not that confident right now, but that’s okay. I have enough confidence in you for the both of us. I have faith in you…even if you don’t. I believe in you…even if you don’t right now.”

“I know you do Donna…but…”

“And so does the President,” she interrupted. “Or you wouldn’t be going. This is too important to him. He wouldn’t be sending you if he didn’t believe in you like I do.”

“Like you do?” He raised an eyebrow and gave her a smirk.

“Well,” she smiled back at him, happy to have his humor back. “Maybe not exactly like I do.” Josh nodded, sighed deeply and nuzzled his face into his wife’s shoulder.

“I’m still afraid,” he whispered into her neck.

“It’s okay to be afraid, Josh.” She ran her hands up and down his back.

“Are you afraid?” He asked, pulling away and walking away from the window.

“No.” She lied.

“What?” He was shocked. “But when you first found out, you were…”

“Crazy?” She asked and he smiled. “Yes, I suppose I was a little afraid. But I was more just surprised by the announcement… and bombarded with all sorts of worst case scenario plot lines. I had a freak out moment, that’s for sure. But now, I’m not afraid. Not anymore.” She hoped and prayed that just this once a lie could pass between them. She hoped that the dark would hide her face and prevent Josh from reading the truth. She was terrified. She was absolutely terrified. But she was not going to tell him that; not now that his confidence was hanging out there; not now that he was questioning himself and his abilities. She was going to have to be the strong one right now. She was going to have to show him that there was no need to worry; that there was no need to doubt himself; that there was no reason for him to be fearful. Even if she had to lie to him just this once to do it.

“Yeah?” He asked skeptically. She swallowed the lump in her throat and cuddled close to him.

“You are the single most brilliant, amazing, caring, and compassionate man that I have ever known. You are going to go over there and give it 200%. You are going to go over there and throw all of your wisdom and all of your heart on the table. You and Arnold Vinnick. You are going to go over there and do your level best to fix this, to make this right, to make it safe. And then you’re going to come home to me…you’re going to do amazing things Josh.” And that, she thought, was 100% true.

“Wow,” he grinned. “How did I ever make it without you?”

“You didn’t,” she grinned back and quickly kissed his cheek before slipping out of his arms and into the kitchen. “Since we’re up, would you like some pancakes for breakfast?”

“Yeah…” He grinned and shrugged before following behind her.

* * * * * *

“Good Morning Boss,” Sam smiled as he entered Josh’s office.

“Good Morning, Sam,” Josh called from where he stood looking out his window. “You’re in early.”

“It’s a big day.”

“That it is,” Josh said softly and turned away from the window.

“How much longer?” Sam asked taking a seat.

“Till lift off?” Josh smiled and Sam nodded. “Thirty minutes.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Donna here today?”

“She’s around here somewhere. We’re leaving for Andrew’s soon. I think she’s planning on coming back after we take off.” Josh sat down in his chair and looked around the room. “Are you ready for this?” He gestured to the pile of documents and folders on his desk.

“I am.” Sam nodded confidently. “You don’t need to worry about this place while you’re gone.”

“I know that.” Josh grinned.

“Good.” Sam smiled. “How about you? Are you ready for this?”

“I hope so.” Josh said quietly. The two men were interrupted by a knock on the door followed by Donna with subdued eyes, but a bright smile.

“Hi Sam. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

“Come in,” Sam interrupted standing. “Seriously, we’re not in a meeting. We’re just…it doesn’t matter. Come in.”

“Okay,” Donna smiled and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “Josh, the car is ready for us.”

“Okay,” Josh exhaled slowly. “I guess this is it.” He stood and pulled his suit coat on. “Sam, my friend, if you run into any problems…”

“I won’t.” Sam shook his head. He certainly didn’t want Josh worried about the office while he was away. “Be careful over there Josh.”

“I will.” Josh nodded and the two men embraced. Donna shifted her eyes to the floor.

“Donna,” Sam turned to her and she looked up with a smile. “If you need anything…”

“I know where to find you,” she patted his arm. “Thank you Sam.”

“Okay,” Sam looked at the two of them. “Well, I’m going to leave you two now. Josh, I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes you will.” And Sam left the room.

Donna and Josh watched each other in silence for a moment, contemplating what came next. Josh broke the silence.

“I have to step in and see the President first,” he pointed towards the Oval Office. “Then we can leave.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Can I wait here?”

“Of course you can. I’ll be right back,” he smiled, quickly kissed her cheek, and slipped through the door connecting his office to the Oval. Donna slowly sat down on the sofa in Josh’s office and waited.

* * * * * *

“Good Morning Sir,” Josh called as he shut the door behind him.

“Good Morning, Josh,” the President stood when Josh entered the room.

“You wanted me to stop in before we left for Andrew’s.”

“Are you meeting Arnold Vinnick there?” He came around his desk and leaned back against it.

“Yes sir,” Josh nodded.

“Everything’s ready to go?” the President asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“I mean…you know what to do if anything goes wrong. Right?”

“Yes,” Josh nodded with a smile. “I have been briefed, briefed, and re-briefed on what to do if anything goes wrong.”

“Good,” Matt nodded.

“Nothing is going to go wrong sir.” Josh’s voice was calm, but stern.

“Just get over there, get it done, and get home.”

“That’s the plan.” Josh nodded. The men starred in silence for a moment before the President’s face and demeanor softened.

“Thank you for doing this…”

“Sir,” Josh interrupted.

“Josh did you just interrupt the President of the United States?” Matt smiled.

“No, sir,” Josh smiled back. “I’m sorry, sir. What were you saying?”

“I mean it Josh, thank you for doing this. I know it’s an enormous responsibility and I know that it’s dangerous…” He trailed off for a moment. “I have faith in the two of you and I know you’ll do good things.”

“Thank you sir,” Josh said softly. “And you’re welcome.”

“You’re on your way to Andrew’s then?”

“Yes, Donna just came to tell me that they are ready for us.”

“How is she doing with all of this?”

“Surprisingly well,” he admitted.

“Good…” He trailed off.

“I should be going…”

“Yes I suppose you should.” Matt clapped his hands together and stood tall. “Good luck Josh,” he stuck his hand out to shake Josh’s. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“Absolutely,” Josh shook the extended hand but caught the intense stare that the President had fixed on him. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes caused a lump to form in Josh’s throat. He smiled warmly and then turned to leave the room. “Be sure to listen to Sam, sir. He knows what he’s doing…and I trust him.”

“I’ll do my best, Josh. But I’m not making any promises,” he grinned. Josh laughed and opened the door.

“That’s all I ask.”

* * * * * *

Donna stood when Josh returned to his office. She was happy to see the smile on his face.

“How did it go?” She asked.

“It went well,” Josh grinned as he collected his bags. “I think Sam’s going to have his work cut out for him.”

“Oh?” Donna matched his grin and picked up his personal bag.

“Yeah, but it should be fun for you to watch.”

“Are you ready?” She asked as he scanned the room one last time.

“Let’s do it.” He nodded and followed her out the door.

* * * * * *  
The car ride to Andrew’s Air Force Base was a quick and silent one. Donna sat next to Josh and held tightly to his hand. Josh rubbed his wife’s fingers with his own and starred out the window, watching the trees fly by. They savored the silence. They savored the moment they had to just be together and be peaceful. They knew that once they arrived, they would be surrounded by people and surrounded by noise.

“We’re here,” Donna’s voice cut into Josh’s thoughts. He turned to his wife and held more tightly to her hand. Their eyes met and held until the car pulled to a stop. The Secret Service agents quickly leapt out and opened Josh’s door. Reluctantly he pulled his hand from Donna’s and stepped out of the car. He waved a hello to Arnold Vinnick who was boarding the plane. Crew members hurried out to the car to collect Josh’s bags and load them on the plane. Various Secret Service agents boarded the plane. They were taking quite a detail with them. Josh’s body man stayed close by. Donna stepped out of the car and watched as people hurried around.

“Wow,” she said softly. “This is really happening.”

“I know,” Josh muttered and turned to her.

“You be careful, okay?” She smiled. He nodded and put his arms around her waist.

“Donna, I need to tell you…”

“Josh,” she started.

“Listen, Donna, please, just listen.” His voice was forceful and his eyes were determined. She surrendered and held onto his arms. “You know where all of the important paperwork is, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you know how to get in touch with my attorney.”

“Yes.” She swallowed.

“You’ll go to Sam if you need anything, right?”

“Josh…”

“Donna.”

“Yes, I will go to Sam if I need anything,” she hated this conversation.

“And you’ll listen to Corey and not try to lose him?” Josh nodded towards the Secret Service agent assigned to Donna. He would be beginning his new assignment the second the car pulled away with Donna in it and Josh on the airplane.

“Yes, Josh, I will listen to Corey,” she rolled her eyes and smiled just a little. “You think I’m going to give the Secret Service a hard time?”

“Well, you can be feisty,” he smirked.

“Yes I can be…”

“God, Donna, you know how much I love you, don’t you?” His voice was low and his eyes were misty.

“Yes,” she almost choked on her words. “I do.”

“Good,” he pulled her close to him in a tight hug. “Good.”

“You know that I love you too, Josh,” she whispered into his ear and held tightly to him.

“Damn right,” he joked before bending his head to hers and kissing her. They were not normally PDA people. As a matter of fact, they were people who sought to avoid such displays. But there, on the tarmac, with the plane waiting, they didn’t care who was watching. They needed to be that close to each other at that moment.

When they parted, Josh was breathless and Donna’s face was flushed. Without a word he kissed her forehead and turned to walk to the plane. She hugged her arms tightly to her chest and watched as the lump formed in her throat and her sight grew blurry from the tears she had been avoiding all week. Just before he stepped onto the plane, he turned back to look at her.

“I’ll see you soon!” He called out.

“Damn right!” She called back with a wave and a grin she forced for him. And with one last, gorgeous, dimpled smile and a nod, Josh was on the plane.

She stood and watched as they flight crew closed the door. She watched as the grounds crew moved the stairs away from the plane. She stood, rooted in her spot next to Corey and the car that would take them away from Andrew’s and back to her and Josh’s home in Georgetown. She stood and watched as the plane taxied down the runway and then flew out of her sight. Then and only then did she return to the car.

As the car took her further and further away from where she had left Josh, she felt the tears begin to flow. She knew he was doing the right thing. She knew in her heart of hearts that he would just have to be okay. She knew she would be brave throughout this journey that Josh was on. She knew she had to be. She knew it was important. But at that moment, she wanted to cry for all of the worry and fear and sadness she was going to push aside while she waited for her husband to come back to her. She sat back in her seat, tears flowing down her cheeks and watched as the trees whipped past the window.

And thousands of miles above the ground, Josh watched as the trees grew smaller and smaller before he turned to Arnold Vinnick and grinned, "are you ready for this?"

"It's too late for that now, don't you think?" He grinned back.

TBC…..


	6. The Journey-Chapter Six

It had been two weeks since Josh had left. Two very long weeks. As she sat at her desk and filtered through the list of phone messages and “Post It” notes, she could still recall vividly the deep well of sadness she had felt as her car had driven away from Andrew’s. She had decided that day to go back to the White House, hoping that work and not Josh would occupy her thoughts.

She should have known better. She should have known that the White House, above almost all other locations, would flood her mind with thoughts of Josh and his trip and his duty. She should have known better, but she went there anyway. She had stood outside the door with her Secret Service Agent, Cody, for a moment of contemplation and, after a deep breath, entered the halls and hurried to her office. Once she had arrived safely within the confines of its walls, she had been able to plunge head first into her work. The First Lady had recently become very actively involved in the Rosemont House, an organization that built and funded shelters for battered and abused women and children throughout the Northeastern region of the country. They had built over one hundred homes and were initiating moves to expand. It was the First Lady’s pet project and she insisted on being involved in all aspects of the expansion; from planning to fund-raising, from ground-breakings to  
ribbon cuttings. She was committed and, therefore, so was Donna. That day, when she returned to the White House, she was unbelievably thankful for the amount of work she had on her desk. She was unbelievably thankful to the Rosemont House.

She had plowed through the day; returning phone calls, taking meetings, sitting with the First Lady. She had been so engrossed in the project that when her cell phone began buzzing, she had literally jumped out of her seat in surprise. Glancing up at the clock and quickly out the window, she found that it was well into the night. It had taken her a second to pull herself together and take her phone from the pocket of her jacket and flip it open.

It was Josh. He had arrived. He had arrived safely. She could finish her first day without him and go home.

* * * * * *

It had been two weeks since he had left. Two very long weeks. As he lay awake in the cool sheets of his bed, he tossed and turned. He was restless. He was frustrated and restless. They had been having the same meeting for a week. The same damn meeting. And they were getting nowhere. Not only were they getting nowhere, he was pretty sure that everyone in the room was as frustrated as he was and he was worried that at some point, they may begin to lose ground. Arnie was doing great though, Josh had to admit that. He was a brilliant man, he really was. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He had two hours. Two hours before he had to be awake, dressed and downstairs to climb into the black suburban that would take him and Arnold Vinnick back to the table. He desperately wanted to sleep for those two hours. He desperately needed to sleep for those two hours. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep for those two hours.

He thought back to the day he had arrived. It had been so hard to leave her that morning. But for his sense of duty and his irrational sense of guilt, he would have never left her side. But for his pride, he would have dropped to the ground and clung to her leg much like a child not wanting to leave his mother on the first day of class. But for her support and encouragement and unbreakable faith and trust in him and his abilities, he would have doubted his capacity to do what he was being sent to do. So, in the end, he had swallowed any doubt he had left, kissed her good-bye and boarded the plane with Arnold Vinnick and their army of Secret Service agents.

It had been the longest plane ride of his life. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He had been on flights that had lasted longer in actual time, but this one felt like it was the longest. He wasn’t sure why it had felt so long, but he was sure it had something to do with what they were being sent to do. It wasn’t entirely impossible. It could be done. He had seen peace brokered during the Bartlet administration. He had been witness to it. It was not entirely impossible. But this wasn’t the same situation. They weren’t dealing with the same people. They weren’t the same people.

When he had finally stepped off the plane, the dry heat and wind were almost overwhelming. His suit and coat were almost too much for his body to carry. At the end of the day he was exhausted; mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. He had shuffled back into the suburban and sat silently as they drove back to the hotel. Once he had entered his room, he unceremoniously shed his clothes into a pile on the floor and climbed into the shower. He let the water cascade down his head, neck, and back; welcoming its heat. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He had thought he would be restless. He had thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He was wrong. He had immediately drifted off to sleep. That was the first and the last time he would do that throughout his entire stay in the Middle East.

He felt like that day had been so long ago. He sighed and glanced back at the clock. He quickly did the time zone math in his head, trying to determine where Donna might be and what she might be doing. He missed her. God, he missed her. He missed her smile, her voice, her body next to his. His calculations told him that it was around 9 pm in DC. She could be anywhere. She could be at home getting ready to go to sleep. He smiled to himself as he envisioned Donna in a tank top and his boxer shorts, her hair pulled back while she washed her face. Maybe she wasn’t home just yet, she could have gone out with friends. She could be running some late night errands or doing some grocery shopping. There were many places she could be, but if he were a betting man, he would lay down good money that she was sitting in her office at her desk.

 

* * * * * *  
The first week he was gone had actually been pretty good. The day after Josh left, she was overwhelmed with phone calls from friends and family. He had left so suddenly that he hadn’t really had the time to call all of the people he should have. As they all found out, they began to call Donna. First it was CJ, her voice fully of worry and sadness that she hadn’t known and hadn’t been able to hug him before he left. She offered to come out to stay with Donna while Josh was away. Then it was Toby. He had known Josh was leaving and simply wanted to check on Donna. He didn’t offer her the sappy words of encouragement. He simply offered her his time if she needed it and dinner if she were hungry. Josh’s mother called every morning. Although she used the cover that she was checking in on Donna, Donna was well aware that she was really wondering about Josh. Donna had received phone calls from Senators and Congressmen and women. She had received messages from  
Charlie and Zoey. She even spoke to President Bartlet who, knowing that Josh would be going, called to be sure he had arrived safely. He assured Donna that Josh and Arnold Vinnick were going to be an effective team. He assured Donna that Josh would come back safely, noting that Josh was much too stubborn to not come back to her. The phone calls had flooded in for the entire week. They called her at home, they called her at work, they called her cell phone. All inquiring about Josh, all offering their support to Donna, and all requesting updates should she have them.

While she appreciated all of the phone calls, her stomach jumped into her throat whenever the phone calls were from Josh. He called as often as could be expected given the situation. He had called her that first night, to let her know he had arrived. He had called again after a couple of days had passed. They didn’t know if and when Josh would be able to call. His schedule was busy and there were certain to be times when he actually wasn’t able to place a call to the US, for various security reasons. She knew that she shouldn’t expect to hear from him every day. His phone calls were short, but well worth the sleep she might be losing or stepping out of the meeting she had to in order to speak to him. Every time he spoke to her he told her things were fine, the people were nice, and that he loved her. She knew that he wasn’t lying to her, but she also knew there was more that he wasn’t telling her. She was curious about those details he was omitting, but mostly  
thankful for the omission.

After overcoming her initial sadness and her initial fears, she had began to warm to the solitude. The first night had been rough. She had gone home late from the office and tried to go to sleep. Finding it difficult to sleep without his body next to hers, she had climbed out of bed and managed to deep clean the entire house before the sun came up. The next day at work had been rough, but she had managed on no sleep before. Throughout the week she found ways to be without him. She traded her pillow for his. It was less comfortable, but smelled like him. She had traded in her own pajamas for t-shirts and button downs from Josh’s closet. She would still watch CNN in the morning, but would turn it to the Home and Garden Channel whenever they were covering the Middle East. She didn’t need help conjuring images of the world Josh was living in. She found herself going to the office early and leaving later, but getting a ton of work done. By the end of the first  
week, she found that she had become more settled with the way things were. She found that she could fall asleep without him and that she could go through the day without worrying about him. That first weekend she found that she kind of enjoyed eating ice cream in bed and watching classic romance movies without him poking fun. She found that she liked sprawling completely across their king sized bed, without running into his hairy legs.

She was beginning to be okay without him. She was beginning to warm to the solitude. Make no doubt about it, she would trade in every single classic romance film and more than half of the space in their bed to have him back, cracking wise and yelling at the television. She missed him, terribly. But she was beginning to believe the words she had said to him the night before he left. He would be okay. There was nothing to worry about. And from her shaded view, those were very true statements.

* * * * * *  
The first week away had been terrible. Absolutely terrible. Since the day they had arrived. Nothing about his day was normal. Nothing about his day was settled. And there were absolutely very few moments where Josh felt safe and in control of what was happening in the world around him. This was new, unfamiliar territory. And it was taking him time to adjust.

The second day he was there, the first day of meetings, there had been an air raid. An actual air raid the likes of which Josh had only seen in movies. Granted, he had been involved in his fair share of dangerous moments throughout his lifetime, but when the sirens sounded and the Secret Service team mobilized and the screams from the street reverberated in his ears, he felt an uncertainty he had never before experienced. Not only was there a daily threat to their safety, the meetings were bringing their own sense of anxiety. They appeared to be going nowhere. They appeared to be useless. Granted, there wasn’t much they could do when they were interrupted by air raids, security breaches, and representatives being called back to their own countries for days at a time while they were experiencing their own crises.

There were moments, brief moments, when he thought they would get through, when he thought they might be nearing an agreement. But those moments were few and far between. But everyday, without fail, he and Arnold Vinnick would make the trip back to the table. Somewhere along the way he had made a conscious decision to start each day with new hope, as force as it might be. New hope that that day would be the day. That they would make some sort of benchmark accomplishment to move the discussion forward. This resolution was a difficult one for Josh, but he was determined not to waste these precious days he was spending away from his wife and his home by being pessimistic. It was strange for him, and for Arnold Vinnick, who seemed a bit cautious around the new, hopeful Josh. The first week had been about adjustment. The first week had been about adapting. The second week had gone slightly better. The new, hopeful Josh had been determined.

The new, hopeful Josh rolled his eyes, still unable to find sleep. Resolving himself to insomnia, he sat up in bed, ran a hand over his face and reached for his phone. Flipping it open, he hit the speed dial and waited.

* * * * * *

Donna leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Her mind was running through the upcoming events the First Lady would be involved in with the Rosemont Expansion. The announcement had gone beautifully. The planning meetings had been excruciatingly long, but productive. They had one month, one month before the doors to 100 new Rosemont House’s would open across the United States. There was going to be a live televised event where the President and First Lady would be speaking followed by the First Lady cutting the ribbon at a new Rosemont House in DC, while simultaneously across the US, ribbons would be cut at all other 99 Houses. It was Donna’s responsibility to locate and schedule the 99 other ribbon cutters. She had been sorting through phone messages and responses from the many phone calls she had made earlier that day. As much work as this project was taking and as short of a time involved from idea to implementation, she was thankful for the distraction.  
She hoped and prayed that Josh would be back before the ribbon cutting in a month, but if he wasn’t, she knew she would need something to distract her from the fact that he wasn’t. She turned her head to the side and looked out her window at the darkness interspersed by street lights and cars. During the last two weeks she had found herself starring off into the night more and more often. She found that the dark night offered the luxury of allowing her mind to wander, to think about him, to think about them. She could almost picture him barging into her office, offering to walk her home or telling her he had to stay late. She could almost picture him sitting at his desk across the building as he dialed her number, offering her dinner.

It was early morning where he was at that moment. He was probably sleeping. She loved Josh sleeping. He was absolutely adorable. A deep smile spread across her lips. She became so caught up in the imagery of a disheveled Josh curled up in bed with his pillow over his head that she almost missed her buzzing cell phone. She quickly sat up and answered.

“Hello.”

“Hey.” It was him.

 

To be continued…


	7. The Journey-Chapter Seven

It was early morning where he was at that moment. He was probably sleeping. She loved Josh sleeping. He was absolutely adorable. A deep smile spread across her lips. She became so caught up in the imagery of a disheveled Josh curled up in bed with his pillow over his head that she almost missed her buzzing cell phone. She quickly sat up and answered.

“Hello.”

“Hey.” It was him.

To be continued…

 

Now, Chapter Seven:

 

“Oh my God, it’s you!” She exclaimed as fell back into her chair.

“Was that a good ‘oh my God, it’s you’ or a bad ‘oh my God, it’s you’?” He grinned.

“How could it possibly be a bad ‘oh my God, it’s you’? You’ve been gone for two weeks.” Her grin matched his.

“Two long weeks.”

“Two very long weeks,” she echoed as sadness came to her voice. There was the briefest of pauses before Josh hurried forward.

“So, it’s a good ‘oh my God…”

“Seriously Josh, how can you even ask?” She rolled her eyes as her smile returned.

“Well, you know, you’ve had some time to be alone at the house. Maybe you found my stash of junk food or that sweater your mom knit me last year that I…”

“Used to clean up the paint you spilled when you insisted it would be a better idea to paint that hideous stand instead of…”

“I’m not going to throw out a perfectly good piece of furniture when all it needed was a fresh coat of paint.”

“Did it get a fresh coat of paint?” She countered, eyebrow raised. He was grinning from ear to ear. He didn’t even care that she had won this round; it felt normal. If he shut his eyes tightly he could almost see her starring at him with one hand on her hip and that look in her eyes that was half amused and half accusing.

“No, it didn’t get a fresh coat of paint,” he admitted.

“No, it didn’t.”

“And do you know what I learned from that situation?” He asked leaning against the dresser in his room.

“Not to balance a full can of paint on that heap of paperwork on your desk?”

“That…and to always listen to my wife.”

“Always?”

“Well, at least when it comes to painting items around the house.”

“Now about this stash of junk food…”

“I miss you,” he interrupted. Tears instantly came to her eyes.

“Having a hard time dressing yourself?” She tried for one more joke.

“Donna,” his voice was soft, low, and genuine. She let the joke pass as the silence settled between the two of them.

They were nearing the point of caution. Since the day they finally made the decision to make this relationship a relationship, they hadn’t had a problem putting voice to their feelings. They had become very open and very honest. But this was touchy territory. Neither of them wanted or needed to break down. They needed to remain strong, and if that meant that they didn’t dredge into just how much they missed each other or just how hard this really was, then maybe they would be able to make it through the long hard days they were facing without one another.

“It was a good ‘oh my God, it’s you’,” she offered.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you at the office right now?” He made his way to the window. The sun would be coming up soon.

“Yes,” she admitted. “Are you surprised?”

“No,” he shook his head. “What are you working on?”

“The Rosemont House.”

“The shelter for abused women?”

“And children, yes,” She began walking around her office.

“How is that going?”

“Great actually. They are expanding to 100 cities nationwide and the First Lady is deeply involved in…well, in everything. It’s such a great cause and it keeps me incredibly busy.”

“Late nights in the office, huh?”

“Well, actually, this last week I’ve occasionally been working in your office.”

“My office? What in the world are you doing in my office?”

“Your old office. Sam’s office,” she explained.

“Really?” He wrinkled his nose. “Your office is so much better. What are you doing over there?”

“My office is so much better,” she nodded. “But I wanted to get away from mine for a while what with all the phone calls and people stopping by. So, I asked Sam if I could work over there for a while. I usually finish up the night over there…it’s kind of nice.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve definitely made some good progress working late nights in the deputy’s office.”

“Good,” he nodded. “Are you still fielding all of the calls from the masses?”

“Not as many as the first week, but there are still the devoted few…”

“My mother, your father…”

“President Bartlet, CJ…”

“Everyday?”

“Just your mother. The rest maybe every third…”

“That’s not too bad,” he shrugged.

“Josh,” she stood still. “When are you…I mean, how are things…I…” She trailed off, not really knowing what she wanted to ask; only knowing what she wanted the answer to be.

“I don’t know…and not good,” he whispered. “I can’t really talk about it…any of it…but I…God Donna, I just don’t know. I’ve been trying so hard to keep up about this…I think I’m scaring Arnold Vinnick…I just don’t want this to be all in vain, you know? I don’t mind the work. I don’t mind the time away. Hell, I don’t even really mind all of the craziness and the high security alerts. I just wish we were….”

“Yeah.”

“Doing something, you know?” He leaned his forearm on the window and let his forehead rest on the pillow it created.

“I know,” she sighed. “I would imagine that you are doing something…even if it seems small…”

“You’re not in those meetings Donna.”

“No, but I think that the very fact that you two are showing up to the meetings is ‘doing something’.”

“Yeah…” His voice trailed off. They sat in silence for a moment. “How’s Sam doing?”

“He’s doing really great actually. He has been living up to his promise to you.”

“Which one is that?”

“The one about checking in on me…”

“I didn’t…” he started.

“Yes you did,” she interrupted. “It’s okay that you did. I mean, I don’t mind that you did.”

“Is he bothering you? Cause I can tell him to back off…” Donna started laughing.

“Bothering me? Sam? Of course Sam’s not bothering me. He stops by almost every morning and he brings me lunch occasionally. He even stopped by the house last weekend. He’s actually very adorable about it.”

“Adorable?” Josh raised his eyebrows. “Maybe you not tell me how adorable Sam is while I’m thousands of miles away from kicking his ass.”

“Kicking his ass?” She rolled her eyes.

“I’m saying I asked him to look out for you, not court you for God’s sake.”

“Court me? Josh have you lost your mind?” She laughed.

“I’m just saying…”

“And I’m just saying that I think the sand is getting to your brain! This is Sam we’re talking about here. Sam. One of your best friends. He’s like a brother to me. A brother who is married by the way, to somebody we both adore. You remember him don’t you? Sam. One of your most loyal...”

“Okay, okay,” he interrupted. “Point taken. I get it.”

“Good,” she sighed. “You know you are the one who asked him to check in on me…”

“I get it,” he interrupted again. “I’m sorry I implied…I just…I hate being this far away.”

“I know you do,” Donna acknowledged, leaning back in her chair and kicking off her shoes.

“I am glad that he’s checking on you. I hate to think of you alone in that place…”

“I’m not alone Josh. They’ve all been great. Everyone…”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s He doing?” The emphasis on He told Donna exactly to whom he was referring.

“Well, my side of the house is not exactly privy to that kind of information,” she grinned.

“Yes, I know,” he grinned back. “But how is doing?”

“He’s doing good Josh. He is. I know he misses you here, but you put together a great staff and from this end it seems as if everything is running smoothly. Really, you don’t have to worry about things here. You don’t have to worry about Him. You don’t have to worry about me. We’re all…” She trailed off and gulped back the lump that was mysteriously rising in her throat. “We’re all doing okay. We’re all just fine.”

“Yeah?” His voice grew quiet.

“And don’t think for one second that means that we don’t need you here and that we want you back here and that you don’t have to hurry up, get it done, and get your ass back here. Not for one second. You have stuff you need to take care of here. You got that?”

“Awfully bossy, don’t you think?”

“Damn right.” She lifted her feet and propped them on her desk.

“And a little pushy?”

“Whatever it takes.”

“Good to know that these last few weeks haven’t changed you too much.” Josh cracked as his alarm clock rang out to let him know it was time to begin his day.

“Not a chance.”

“Donna,” he hated this part of their conversations. She could hear the dread in his voice.

“You have to go?” Her feet fell to the floor and her smile fell from her face.

“Yeah, I need to shower…I’m sorry it has to be short.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” she interrupted, forcing a smile.

“Don’t I know it,” he grinned in response. “I’ll call again, as soon as I can.”

“Josh,” she paused. “Keep up about it. Keep on it. I know you might be scaring Secretary Vinnick…but stay up and stay on it…You know how to do this. You do. And you will…eventually… as long as you stay on top of the game.”

“You seem awfully sure…”

“I am.”

“Yeah?”

“And you are too.”

“Yeah.”

“Josh?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“This I know.”

“Good.”

“Donna.”

“Yes?”

“Have a good week okay…”

“I will.”

“Tell everyone hello for me.”

“I will.”

“And my mom…”

“I will, Josh.”

“I love you too, you know that?”

“I do know that.”

“Good night Donna.”

“Have a good day Josh.”

And the line went silent.

Slowly, almost hesitantly Donna closed her phone and slipped it into her pocket. She slipped on her shoes, stood and gathered her things. With one last look around the room, she clicked off her light and headed for home.

Slowly, almost hesitantly Josh closed his phone and tossed it onto the bed. After one last look out the window at the magenta colored sky, he ran a hand through his hair and made his way to the bathroom.

TBC….


	8. The Journey-Chapter Eight

“I don’t know about this,” Donna admitted to the other women as they climbed from the cab that had pulled to a stop outside The Green Light.

It was Friday night. She had been content spending the evening in her office going over notes when Annabeth had popped her head in, inviting her to join a group headed out to the small bar to relax over a few drinks. At first she had said no, but was easily swayed when Annabeth noted that it had been three weeks since Josh had left. Three weeks of working overtime. Three weeks of going home to an empty house. So, with her heart only half into it, she shrugged, gathered her coat and joined Annabeth, Ainsley, Ronna, and Lou (who quite frankly looked less enthusiastic than Donna) and went to the bar. As they approached the door, her pajamas and her bed became tempting and she began to have second thoughts.

“I think I might just go home, take a bath, and go to sleep…it’s been a long week.” The group of women turned to Donna with accusing stares as she stalled on the sidewalk.

“Donna Moss,” Ainsley started in her best ‘mothering’ tone.

“Donna Lyman,” Annabeth corrected with a grin.

“Donna Lyman,” Ainsley rolled her eyes with a smile. “It’s Friday night. We’ve had a long week. You’ve had a longer month. We are going to go in there and get tipsy!”

“You’re going to get tipsy?” Lou raised her eyebrows.

“Mmhmm,” Ainsley nodded. “Donna too.”

“You want to get me tipsy? This is how you’re trying to convince me?” Donna questioned but began walking towards the door.

“Well, it’s really all I could think of,” Ainsley admitted with a shrug.

“That’s really all you could think of?” Ronna asked.

“Can you think of anything else?” The petite blonde folded her arms across her chest and turned to Ronna.

“Sure,” Ronna nodded. “We haven’t been out in ages, they have a great happy hour, we can enjoy some drinks, chat about work without working, laugh, enjoy some music, have a great time…” She trailed off.

“Yes…and Brahm said he might meet us here in a little while,” Ainsley chimed in.

“Brahm? You’re trying to convince Donna with promises of Brahm?” Lou couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes,” Ainsley grinned and nodded. “He’s quite funny…and hunky.”

“Hunky?” Lou scrunched her face up.

“Yes, hunky,” Ainsley blushed slightly but remained firm in her convictions.

“You know, I think promises of funny, hunky Brahm have done the trick,” Donna interrupted with a smile as she pulled open the door. She was going to work from home the next day and Ronna was right, they hadn’t been out in ages.

The group filed into the bar and was seated at a table towards the back. There was a small stage where a band was setting up their equipment and the young peppy waitress was very quick to take their order. Donna nestled into her comfortable chair and sipped on the glass of wine she had ordered. Letting out a long sigh, she was pleased with her decision to come.

As the band began to pluck away at their instruments, she felt the stress of the last three weeks ease off of her shoulders. The wine was wonderful. The band was easy to listen to. The conversation was fun and fit for the group. The only reminder of all that was going on in the world was her agent Corey and he was standing inconspicuously behind Donna as he surveyed the crowd. She smiled back at him and returned her attention to the group of women who, thankfully, had drug her out of her office that night.

* * * * *

Josh had five minutes before he would climb into the black suburban that would take him and Arnold Vinnick across the town for their meeting. During the first two weeks they had seen little progress, but this last week there had been a slight turn for the better. People were beginning to agree on the terms of the discussion. They were beginning to agree on an agenda for The Meeting. Josh could sense that they were getting closer to a point where they would actually have The Meeting. In the meantime, he did his best to stay motivated and avoid utter frustration and the slow pace they were moving. Arnold Vinnick who had at first been thrown off his game by Josh’s optimistic attitude was finding himself feeding off of it and trying to begin each day with a renewed sense of hope, as silly as it sounded. Josh pulled on his suit coat and gathered his bags. With one last glance around the room to be sure he wasn’t forgetting something, he made his way to the lobby.

“Mr. Lyman,” Arnold Vinnick smiled and looked up from the paper he was reading.

“Secretary Vinnick,” Josh returned the smile. “Are they delivering The Post to your room, ‘cause I can’t seem to get any extra towels?”

“Nah,” he shook his head and stood. “It’s the “Thrifty Nickel”.”

“The “Thrifty Nickel”?” Josh raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Arnold folded the paper and stuffed it under his arm. “You have heard of the “Thrifty Nickel”, Josh, haven’t you?”

“Would you think less of me if I hadn’t?”

“You’re joking.”

“Maybe it was before my time,” Josh suggested with a smirk.

“Your time? Don’t be smart, I know your true age…and I know when ‘your time’ was.”

“Spend some time working for the CIA did you?” Josh thoroughly enjoyed the back and forth he had developed with the Secretary.

“Mr. Lyman, Secretary Vinnick, we’re ready.” The two men followed the Secret Service detail through the lobby to the vehicles waiting out front.

“So, are you going to tell me what the “Spiffy Nickel” is or am I left to wonder?” Josh asked as they settled in their seats.

“The “Thrifty Nickel”,” Arnold offered.

“Yes, the “Thrifty Nickel.”

“It’s a free newspaper of sorts…basically the classifieds; Help Wanted, Items for sale, that kind of thing. They have them in just about every grocery store in the States,” the Secretary explained as the suburban began to drive across town.

“And its circulation has spread to the Middle East?” Josh was clearly confused.

“No, it hasn’t.”

“You said you were…”

“I was making a joke.”

“A joke?”

“Yes, a joke. Is that before your time too?” Josh grinned at the Secretary.

“Okay, so what were you reading?”

“I have no idea.” Arnold shrugged.

“Why not?”

“I don’t speak the language.”

“Then why were you…” Josh’s forehead crinkled.

“Because of this,” he pulled the paper out from under his arm and thrust it into Josh’s hands.

“Oh,” Josh’s eyebrows went up.

“Oh.” Arnold acknowledged with a nod. On the front page of the local paper was a picture of the Secretary and Josh shaking hands with the Prime Minister. “We should have somebody take a look at this…”

“We are. They have a copy.”

“But you wanted one for yourself?” Josh asked handing the paper back to the Secretary.

“Yeah.”

“Why is that?”

“I look pretty good in that suit,” the Secretary grinned.

* * * * * *  
As she worked on her third glass of wine, Donna couldn’t help but admit that they had all been right. Annabeth had been right, they needed a night out. Ronna had been right, the music was great and they were having a good time. Even Ainsley had been right, they were becoming a little tipsy. And, as she watched Brahm, who had recently join them, tell another story about the Campaign trail, she realized he was quite funny…and a little hunky.

“How are you holding up?” Lou’s voice cut into Donna’s thoughts.

“Hmm?” Donna turned to Lou with a smile.

“How are you holding up? I mean…with Josh gone and all…” There was genuine concern in her voice.

“I’m doing pretty well, actually.”

“Good.”

“We’ve been apart before…” Donna trailed off as a frown spread over her face.

“Don’t do that. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“You didn’t.” Donna shook her head and smiled again. “I do miss him though.”

“We all do,” Lou smiled back at Donna.

“Why Lou, did you just admit that you miss Josh?”

“I didn’t…”

“I won’t tell,” Donna whispered with a grin.

“I would deny it anyway,” Lou shrugged and took a drink from her glass.

“You are all doing great over there…holding the place together. He would be proud,” Donna offered. “He will be proud. So well in fact…”

“You think if we dropped the ball…”

“That he would jump on the next plane and come back to ream your asses?” Donna raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah?” Lou was smiling now.

“I think maybe he might,” Donna gave it some thought.

“Would you like us to give that a shot?”

“Would you please?”

“I’ll talk to Otto, maybe he could help us out in the ball-dropping area.”

“You think he would do that?”

“In service to his country.” Both women were near laughter at the thought.

“Hey!” Ronna called out, pointing towards the door. “Sam and Lauren are here!” Having heard Ronna’s voice, Sam waved and the two made their way to the table. After a round of hugs, handshakes, and greetings Lauren settled next to Donna while Sam went for more drinks. Donna couldn’t help but grin through the tears that were welling in her eyes. She was having such a great time. They were all having a great time. But he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there and they had no idea when he would be.

* * * * * *

They had been meeting for three weeks. They had been sitting in that same room for sixteen days. They had been sitting in those same seats for 192 hours. Josh knew avoidance when he saw it, and these had been the most grueling, mind-numbing, coma inducing 192 hours of his life. But as he sat there, in the 193rd hour, just before they were to break for lunch, it began to happen. His ears perked up. His eyes went wide. His heart rate spiked with the adrenaline rush. He looked quickly to Arnold Vinnick who had moved from his slouched position to leaning forward with his hands on the table. He had heard it too.

Finally, after endless small-talk and avoidance, after talking in circles for what felt like months, they were finally…in that 193rd hour…FINALLY moving forward. Josh moved forward in his chair with the tiniest of movements, afraid that if he moved to fast or made too much noise that the meeting would end abruptly and they would be right back to hour 1.

“Are you…are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He asked looking from the translator to the Prime Minister’s representative. He waited with baited breath as the translation went back and forth.

“Yes, I am saying we can start talking about negotiations. If the United States can convince the Premier to send a delegate here to meet with us, then we will meet. But we will only meet here and only if he will send somebody to us.” Josh felt Arnold Vinnick grab his arm. He turned to him quickly. The Secretary, trying to control his facial expression, nodded his affirmation to Josh.

“Yes, we can do that,” he told the delegate.

“When?” The translator asked.

“In two days,” the Secretary spoke up releasing his hold on Josh. “We can have somebody here, in this room in two days.”

As the translator relayed the information and the delegate turned to discuss it with his staff, Josh took that moment to take the breath he had been holding off since it had happened.

“I can’t believe this is…” He muttered to Arnold Vinnick under his breath.

“Don’t say it,” he muttered back with warning in his voice. Josh nodded and waited.

“Okay,” the translator’s voice boomed in the room. “Okay, in two days we will meet here with a delegate sent by the Premier. In two days. If he is not here…”

“He will be here,” Josh interrupted assuredly.

“If he’s not here, we all go home.” Josh gulped.

“He will be here,” Secretary Vinnick nodded, as the three men stood to shake hands.

There would finally be a meeting. Josh could not believe that they were finally moving forward. As the room began to disburse for lunch, an aide to the Prime Minister’s delegation came barging in, waiving a piece of paper and shouting. Although neither Josh nor Arnold Vinnick knew the language, they certainly recognized the tone of urgency. They stopped in their tracks and looked to the translator who was engrossed in the conversation.

“Wait!” He called out on behalf of the delegate. But before the translator could continue, the Secret Service team mobilized.

“Mr. Lyman, Secretary Vinnick, we need you to come with us…” Josh could hear the urgency in his voice.

“What the hell is going on?” Josh asked watching the panic scatter over the delegate’s face. He looked to the translator. “What the hell is going on?”

“There’s been a threat.”

“To us?” The Secretary asked as everyone began to gather their things and move about the room.

“Not just you,” the translator relayed as he quickly gathered his briefcase and coat. “Everyone taking part in these meetings and…” He was interrupted by the sound of what could only be a gun shot from the street.

“Mr. Lyman,” Josh’s Body Agent’s voice was insistent as he began to physically move Josh towards the door.

“And who?” Josh called to the translator as chaos erupted in the room. “Everyone in the meetings and who?”

“And your families.” As the words fell in Josh’s head, his blood ran cold and he found he could no longer move his legs.

“Mr. Lyman,” his agent’s voice was the only thing he could hear. “Threats have been made. You and Secretary Vinnick will be debriefed at the embassy later. Right now, there has been security breach and we need you to come with us. Right. Now.” And with one movement, Josh felt Rodney push him from the room.

* * * * * *

“So, let me get this right,” Ronna managed between gasps for breath as the others laughed and a few fought back tears. “You’re telling me that Sam and Josh lit the White House on fire?” Just hearing the words again caused an uproar of laughter from the table.

“Yes,” Donna nodded with a grin. “You should have seen the looks on their faces when the fire alarm went off!”

“Sam Seaborn!” Lauren poked him accusingly.

“It was an accident!” He spread his hands out defending himself. “How were we supposed to know the flue was welded shut?!?”

“How did you find out the flue was welded shut?” Annabeth asked.

“I read the plaque by the fireplace,” Sam said in a small voice.

“And there you go,” Annabeth gestured.

“Was President Bartlet there?” Ronna asked.

“Yes,” Sam nodded. “Charlie had to wake him up and evacuate the building.” The table burst into laughter again.

“Oh my God! Sam!” Lauren slapped her husband’s arm as she tossed her head back and giggled.

“Hey, it was all Josh’s idea!” Sam offered.

“Oh I’m sure he would have something to say about that,” Lou smiled.

“Ask Donna, she was there,” Ainsley offered and the group turned to her, but she was no longer laughing. The smile had dropped from her face and her eyes were fixed on something in the distance. “Donna?” Ainsley asked.

As heads turned and eyes found what she was watching, the laughter stopped and the table grew quiet. MSNBC was on the TV above the bar. One of the news anchors was reporting on the ‘Middle Eastern Peace Negotiations’ and the running tag along the bottom of the screen told of a possible threat made on the delegates and possible evacuation of the building.

“What the hell?” Lou wondered out loud as she stood, hoping to get a better look. The silence was interrupted by the ringing of Sam’s cell phone. He stood quickly, pulled the phone from his pocket, and turned away from the table to take the call.

Donna couldn’t speak, she could only look from Sam to the TV with pictures of the fighting and the tagline. Donna stood when Sam came quickly back to the table, gathering his coat.

“I have to go back,” he announced, leaning down to kiss his wife on the cheek. He turned to Donna. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“Sam?” Lou asked.

“Not yet,” he shook his head and kissed Donna’s cheek before leaving them all speechless.

“Oh my God,” Donna muttered.

“It’s okay Donna,” Annabeth placed a hand on her friends arm.

“It is,” Lauren nodded. “You know how it is, Donna. They call Sam back all the time.”

“Yes, they do,” Donna agreed, still feeling uneasy.

“It will be fine Donna,” Ronna smiled.

“Yeah,” Brahm chimed in. “Besides, if it were something with Josh, your agent would be…”

“Mrs. Lyman,” Corey’s presence and voice interrupted. “I need you to come with me.”

 

To Be Continued…


	9. The Journey-Chapter Nine

Without so much as a word, Donna collected her coat and her purse. As she saw her friends try their best to mask the panic that was coursing through their minds, she managed a forced smile, hoping to calm all of their nerves.

“Donna,” Lauren reached out to place her hand on her friend.

“It’s okay,” Donna muttered while shaking her head. “It will be okay…”

“Ma’am,” Corey’s voice was more forceful this time. “I need to get you into the car.”

“Okay,” she nodded and turned to him. “I’m sorry to leave like this…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ainsley offered.

“We’ll be fine,” Ronna nodded solemnly.

“I will call you tomorrow,” Lauren called.

“Good night,” Donna smiled. Corey placed an arm around her shoulder and began speaking into his wrist. In less than five seconds, Donna was whisked out of The Green Light and into the car waiting for them out front. She was completely numb and devoid of emotion, her mind’s way of saving her from the thoughts that were persisting. It was about Josh. The news anchor, the footage, the page that called Sam back to the White House. The second Corey stepped up to take her from the building, she knew it was about Josh. As the car pulled quickly away from the curb and into traffic, she held her breath and forced the thoughts of Josh and what may be happening from her mind.

“Where are we going?” She asked Corey.

“We’re taking you to your home, Ma’am,” he kept his focus on the street as he spoke to her. “Your home is secure.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“I will in a moment, Ma’am,” he nodded.

* * * * * *

From the moment Rodney pushed Josh from the room, his senses became less astute. He could see, but only in tunnel vision. He could hear, but only the screams and shots from the street. He could feel his pulse quicken and felt his throat go dry, but he couldn’t quite place his legs or orient himself. He knew what was happening, but for some reason he couldn’t process the reality of it.

He did know that this was serious. The Secret Service was forcibly removing him and Secretary Vinnick from the meeting room, loading them into the suburban and taking them directly to the Embassy. The embassy was where they were told to go if anything went wrong. It was the most secure place for them. Both he and the Secretary had been instructed if anything happened…anything bad…if they ever found themselves in a situation without protection, they were to go directly to the Embassy. Josh knew that meant trouble. However, the trouble they might be in was not ranking high on his list of thoughts at that moment. Even as the group emerged into the blinding light of day, where only moments before gun shots had rung out, all he could think of was the translator’s final words…. “and your families.” And Donna.

He wasn’t quite sure how exactly he moved from the chaos of the meeting room to the relative security of the black suburban, but there he was. He was wedged between two Secret Service agents. He watched as Arnold Vinnick wiped his brow with a handkerchief. He had to cough and swallow a few times before he finally found his voice.

“Is Donna okay?”

“Sir…”

“What did he mean when he said ‘and your families’?” He looked pointedly at Rodney.

“Sir…”

“What did that mean? Have there been threats made to our families? To my wife?”

“Mr. Lyman, our job is to get you and the Secretary to the Embassy. There were shots fired...”

“I’m going to fire some shots of my own if somebody doesn’t tell me if my wife is okay!” Josh yelled. He instantly realized that yelling threats at the men who were to stand between him and a bullet was probably not the wisest move to make given the situation. “I’m sorry…I just…”

“Mr. Lyman,” it was Rodney who spoke to Josh first. “I know that you’re worried about your wife, but I guarantee you that her agents have been mobilized to move her to safety…as well as your family Mr. Secretary,” he turned to Arnold Vinnick. “Right now, we need to get you to the Embassy where we all be briefed about the current situation.”

“Okay,” Josh ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in the seat. “I am sorry about the shots thing…I didn’t mean it...” Rodney nodded at Josh and turned back to watch the streets as they traveled quickly across town. Josh took a deep breath and met Arnold Vinnick’s gaze.

“Josh,” the Secretary leaned forward and motioned for Josh to do the same.

“Yeah?” He asked leaning forward on his knees.

“You don’t really have a gun do you?”

“No,” Josh shook his head.

“Well…at least we have that going for us,” the Secretary shook his head and sat back in his seat.

* * * * * *

Two agents met Donna and Corey at her front door. They moved aside and let the two of them pass into the safe confines of her home. As the door shut behind them, Donna spun on her heels to face Corey.

“Okay, I’m home,” she crossed her arms in front of her. “Now, what’s going on?”

“Mrs. Lyman,”

“Cut it with the formalities and get to the point. I was good. I left the second you told me to. I didn’t fight with you. I didn’t argue. And now we’re nice and safe at home and I want to know what’s going on.”

“Ma’am, I was instructed to secure you. They haven’t given me all the details yet....”

“Corey, I know that something’s wrong and I know that it has to do with Josh. I saw the pictures on the news and I know that Sam was called back to the White House…and then you pulled me out of there. Now, I want to know what’s going on.” She stood her ground.

“All I can do is tell you what I know…and when I know more…I will tell you more,” he knew that she was upset, but he wasn’t backing down either. “At this moment, I honestly have no idea exactly what is going on.”

“Okay,” she searched his face deciding he was telling her the truth. “What can you tell me then?”

“Ma’am?”

“You said you would tell me what you know…what do you know?” Her posture had softened.

“I know that Mr. Lyman is okay.”

“Josh?” She felt tears spring to her eyes.

“Yes, we have had contact with his Secret Service team and we do know that Mr. Lyman and Secretary Vinnick have been secured and are on their way to the Embassy. I don’t know what precipitated this mobilization, but I do know that they are secure.” Unable to control herself she flung her arms around his neck.

“Thank you!”

“Ma’am,” he pulled away from her blushing.

“I’m sorry Corey,” she couldn’t help but grin at how shy he suddenly seemed.

“Quite alright ma’am,” he nodded. “I am going to step out side now. When I hear more, I will let you know.”

“Thank you Corey,” she nodded at him and watched as he shut the door behind him.

Alone in her home, she took a long deep breath and let it out of her lungs very slowly. She kicked her shoes off and shed her jacket. Stretching her arms over her head, she walked to the kitchen. She poked the power button on the TV as she leaned down to retrieve a beer from the fridge. She pulled open a drawer to search for the bottle opener. Finding it, she popped the top of the beer and leaned back against the counter as she stared blankly at the TV screen. Tipping her head back, she let the cool liquid flow down her throat. She was fighting back the tears behind her eyelids. She wasn’t going to cry. She had no idea what was going on. For all she knew, this was just a false alarm. But the feeling in her gut told her that there was definitely something going on. Something serious. She only hoped that Josh knew what he was doing and would figure it out quickly. And get home to her. Quickly.

* * * * * *

“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he and Secretary Vinnick were rushed around the corner and down a corridor to a secure room. An embassy staffer had met them at the door and was leading them around the building.

“Mr. Lyman,” the staffer smiled. “I apologize. I know just as much, if not less than you do about the situation.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“Josh,” Arnold Vinnick placed a hand on his arm. “She is an assistant. Let her do her job.”

“I’m sorry,” Josh looked to the young woman. “I feel completely out of control of this situation…and if you knew me at all, you would know that does not sit well with me.”

“I understand sir.”

“Does not sit well with you?” Arnold Vinnick muttered under his breath. “That’s an understatement.”

 

“Come on…we have been pulled from a meeting following gun shots, pushed into a car and rushed to the embassy with promises of a damn explanation…”

“Sir, you’re going to get an explanation, a detailed one.”

“When in the hell is that going to happen?”

“Right now,” she said as she held open a door to a dimly lit conference room.

“There’s nobody in here.” The Secretary stepped into the room and looked from Josh to the staffer.

“How are we going to…” Josh began, joining the Secretary in the room.

“On the phone,” she pointed to the telephone in the middle of the table. “That is a secure line. If you pick it up and press line one, you will be on a secure phone call with the President.”

“President Santos?” Josh hurried toward the table.

“In the Situation Room,” the staffer nodded. “If you need anything, I’ll be right outside this door.”

“Thank you,” Josh nodded at the young woman. Secretary Vinnick watched as the young woman closed the door behind her and he reached for the phone. He took a deep breath and pressed the blinking button.

“Mr. President? It’s Arnold Vinnick.”

“Arnold, it’s good to hear your voice. Is Josh there with you?”

“I’m right here sir,” Josh called out as he took a seat at the table.

“Are you both okay?” His voice rang with concern.

“We’re fine sir,” Arnold Vinnick answered.

“Sir, if you don’t mind…” Josh cleared his throat. “We were just pulled out of a meeting and rushed to the embassy. Now, all we really know is that there were shots fired outside…and what appears to be a threat…and if you don’t mind….”

“You want to know what in the hell is going on?” The President asked. For the first time since it all started, Josh cracked a smile.

“Basically…”

“I hear you Josh,” the President paused for a moment. “There’s been a security threat. Wires were intercepted that indicated a plot to force delegates in your meeting out of negotiations. You must be making some sort of progress over there because you’re starting to make people nervous.”

“But we must be receiving blanketed threats every day…” Arnold Vinnick spoke up. “What makes this different?”

“There have been attempts made to follow through with the threats.”

“Oh my God,” Josh muttered.

“What do you mean by that, sir?” The Secretary asked with obvious worry in his voice.

“The attempts were not made here,” Nancy McNally’s voice cut through the air. “The attempts were made on the foreign delegates. The Prime Minister’s children were pulled out of there schools after a security guard discovered a poorly wired pipe bomb tucked into a slide on the playground. Immediately following that, the Prime Minister’s representative at the table…his wife was nearly abducted outside of the local market. Had she not been assigned a security detail…” Her voice trailed off and a silence fell over both rooms.

“Okay,” Arnold Vinnick spoke up. “Okay.”

“Is everyone…” Josh gulped. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, Josh,” it was Sam’s voice that cut through the room this time. “Everyone is okay. The Secretary’s family, Donna, everyone’s okay.”

“What about the other delegates?”

“Everyone is okay.” Josh let out a sigh of relief at Sam’s last statement.

“Okay. So, all we need to do is convince the Prime Minister not to pull his delegate from the table and then we’ll call the Premier…” Josh began to move forward.

“No.” The President’s voice boomed loudly.

“I’m sorry sir?” Josh looked up at a puzzled Arnold Vinnick.

“I said no, Josh.”

“I heard you, sir. What I meant was, what do you mean by no?”

“I mean you are not going to convince the Prime Minister and you are not going to call the Premier. The United State’s Marine Corps is bringing you home; you and the Secretary.”

“Sir,” Arnold Vinnick began.

“Wheels up in two hours. They are bringing your stuff from the hotel right now.” The President pressed on.

“Sir,” Arnold Vinnick began again. “With all due respect, sir…”

“You two are coming home.”

“Sir, I have to agree with the Secretary,” Josh spoke up. “You were right. We were making progress. Just today…we began making progress…”

“And you made people nervous and they made threats and attempts on the lives of the delegates’ families. Josh, you and the Secretary are coming home.”

“Sir…”

“Josh!” Both men were shocked by the tone and volume of the President’s voice. “My understanding is that there were shots fired not twenty yards from where you were sitting! They found a pipe bomb on a play ground! The delegate’s wife…Josh, Arnie…

“But Sir, if we don’t do this now, we might not have another chance to…” Arnold Vinnick spoke, as he stood and began to pace around the room.

“Arnie, the Secret Service intercepted letters that were sent to your homes! Letters that made threats to your families…”

“Mr. President, we are so close. Please let us stay and…” Josh stood and leaned on the table, hanging his head.

“Josh, I am not going to continue to allow you two to sit in the middle of a war zone while they are sending out explicitly detailed threats to…Josh, they sent threats to Donna. The Secret Service has a letter that was mailed to Donna…to your house. Josh…” The room grew silent as the President waited for the words to sink in.

Josh felt sick to his stomach. Arnold Vinnick felt slightly dizzy. They looked at each other, both searching for some direction, for an answer.

“Listen to me, do not think for a second that I don’t appreciate what you’ve done…what you’re doing…what you’re trying to do. I do. But I cannot in good conscience keep you over there any longer. I cannot continue to worry that sooner rather than later we are going to find bombs stashed on your grandchildren’ s playgrounds or that Donna is going to be assaulted outside a local department store. I just can’t do that,” the President took a deep breath. “I need you two to come home.”

“Mr. President,” Josh began as he slumped his body into a chair.

“Josh…”

“Please, sir, just hear me out for a moment…” He paused for a moment and went on. “It makes me sick to conjure up the images of the incidents you are speaking of….to think about pipe bombs at a playground or Donna…” Josh gulped. “I know that you are trying to do what you think is right…trying to do what you think is prudent and safe…but sir, we have been out here for a very long time…and today, for the first time, we saw a glimmer of hope. The delegate agreed to a meeting. If we could get the Premier to send a delegate in two days…he agreed to a meeting. We told him we could bring a delegate from the Premier…and we set a meeting for two days. Now, I don’t know if that offer still stands and I don’t know if we still have a chance in hell of convincing the Premier to send a delegate…but I do know that if we leave with the Marines in two hours…if we leave the table now…they won’t be coming back to it. This is the time to act. This is it. We have to stay or the  
threats will never stop and in the future it won’t just be the Secretary’s family or my wife…it will be thousands of people and their families…and I just don’t think that I can, in good conscience, walk away from the table knowing that…”

“Neither can I,” Arnold spoke up.

“Arnie?” The President’s voice was quiet. The older man stopped pacing and leaned against the wall as he starred at Josh.

“Mr. President,” he took a deep breath. “Josh is right.” After what felt like hours, the President spoke.

“Fine.”

“Sir?” Josh leaned forward.

“I said fine. If you can convince the Prime Minister…and the get the Premier to send a delegate to meet in two days, then fine.”

“You won’t regret this,” Arnold Vinnick leaned against the table and spoke into the speaker phone.

“You have one week. One week.”

“Thank you Sir…”

“I mean it, Josh. Finish it, don’t finish it…I don’t care. The two of you are coming home in one week.”

“Okay. One week,” Josh nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Arnold Vinnick added.

“Don’t make me regret this,” the worry was still very present in the President’s voice. “I do not want to have to tell Donna that her idiot husband wound up…”

“You won’t Sir,” Josh interrupted. “You won’t.”

“Be careful. I will see you both soon.” With those final words, the President disconnected the phone call.

Josh and Arnie looked from the silenced phone to each other. They wore matching looks of desperation. Josh ran his hands over his face and leaned his head back.

“Now what?” He asked.

“Now you call the Prime Minister and I’ll call the Premier,” Arnold answered.

“Thank you, for agreeing with me,” Josh rose his head to look at the Secretary.

“Yeah, well…when you’re right, you’re right.”

“Well…” Josh smiled smugly.

“Watch it. I didn’t say it happened often…” The two men smiled at each other.

“Do you think this is going to work?” Josh asked quietly.

“I think we have a week to find out.”

 

To Be Continued………………………


	10. The Journey-Chapter Ten

“Ma’am,” Donna could hear a voice cutting into her thoughts. “Ma’am?” She looked up quickly to see her assistant standing right in front of her desk.

“I’m sorry…” She shook her head in attempts to clear it.

“No, I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” she smiled sympathetically at her boss.

“It’s okay. I was just…” Donna shook her head again and smiled. “I’m sorry, what can I do for you?”

“There’s a Mr. Ziegler on the phone.”

“Toby?”

“Yes…I can take a message if you like?”

“What? No,” Donna smiled away the confused look that had flashed across her face. “Please, put him through.”

“Will do,” she nodded and left the room. Moments later the phone on Donna’s desk rang. She leaned forward in her chair and picked up the receiver.

“Hello.”

“Donna…it’s Toby.”

“So I’ve been told,” she grinned. “Is everything okay? I mean with Andy and Huck and Molly…is everything okay?” She hadn’t seen the Ziegler family since before Josh had left.

“Yeah, yes. Andy and the twins are fine…everyone’ s fine,” she heard Toby take a deep breath. “How’s Josh? Have you heard from him lately?”

“It’s been a while…a long while actually…” She trailed off. “But he’s doing well, from the best of my knowledge.”

“Good.”

“So, to what do owe the honor of this phone call?” She twirled a pen around in her hand.

“Well, I’m in town for the night. I’m speaking at Georgetown tomorrow…”

“You are?” She interrupted. “That’s fantastic Toby. A Political Science course?”

“American Government, yes.”

“Good for you.”

“Thank you, but that’s not why I called…I was thinking, if you were free…well, I thought maybe we could grab dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes…dinner. Andy and the twins will be at her mother’s house and, well, I have to eat…”

“Dinner would be nice, Toby.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Although I have to warn you, since Josh left town, I have a gang of men following me wherever I go.”

“Of course. How about I come to your house and cook you dinner?”

“You want to cook me dinner?”

“I can cook.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that you can do anything you set out to do Toby…I just…that’s awfully kind of you.”

“Yeah well…” The line fell silent and Donna could almost feel the emotion in Toby’s voice. “It’s the very least I can do.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes. What time should I expect you?”

“Is seven too early?”

“Not at all”

“Too late?”

“Nope.”

“Good…I will see you then.”

“Okay,” Donna nodded. “Thank you Toby.”

“Don’t mention it,” he answered before disconnecting the line. Donna slowly reached forward and placed the receiver back in its cradle. Toby was in town and he called because he wanted to come over and cook her dinner. She felt a lump grow in her throat. She knew he was worried about Josh. She knew he was worried about her sitting at home worrying about Josh. Their friends had been so amazing to her during this crazy time in their lives. They had been absolutely amazing. And now Toby; scruffy, grumpy, misunderstood Toby was coming to cook her dinner. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned back to her work.

* * * * * *

Josh was in bed, finding himself in the same predicament as he had the last two nights. It had been two days since they had been pulled into the embassy. Two days since the President had given them their timeline. Two days since he had learned of the letter delivered to his house detailing threats made against Donna. Two days since he had lost his mind and insisted that he and Arnold Vinnick stay and finish what they started. Now he was lying in bed staring at the ceiling trying to will himself to sleep. It had been two days of him trying to will himself to sleep. He groaned and rolled to his side. The blinking clock indicated he had about four hours to lay there before his alarm would go off and he would begin this fateful day.

They had been successful, he and Arnold Vinnick. Josh had been able to convince the Prime Minister and his delegate to come back to the table. Arnold Vinnick had miraculously convinced the Premier to send somebody in his name. It had taken Josh longer, but in the end, they were both successful. His stomach ached. His stomach ached with excitement and fear and hope and desperation. His stomach simply ached. He rolled back onto his back and thought for a moment about calling her. He knew that hearing her voice may ease some of the tension in his neck. He also knew that hearing her voice might just cause that last string he was hanging onto to break and that he might take the President up on his ‘evacuation plan’. He knew that if he heard a hint of fear or sadness in Donna’s voice, he would be on the first plane, commercial or otherwise, out of there and head straight into her arms. As tempting as that thought was, he also knew that his original plea to the  
President was right on. They needed to finish what they started. They had been given that opportunity. Today was that day.

As he closed his eyes in yet another attempt to sleep, he heard a knock at the door. His eyes flew open. He heard the knock again. He sat up in bed and swung his legs over the edge to the floor. As the door hadn’t been forcefully opened, he assumed it was not the Secret Service coming in to whisk them away. Walking to the door, he heard the knock again. He ran a hand through his hair and opened his door, he grinned when he saw who was on the other side.

“Mr. Secretary?”

“Please, Josh, it’s two in the morning. We can drop the formalities, don’t you think?” The Secretary, clad in robe and slippers, was smiling back at Josh.

 

“What are you doing here?”

“I can’t sleep,” the older man shrugged. “And I figured if I couldn’t sleep, that you, being the more high-strung of the two of us, probably couldn’t sleep either…so, I brought coffee.” He held up two cups with lids.

“You brought me coffee?” Josh raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.”

“Wow, thank you,” he reached out and took the cup from him. Josh stood aside as the Secretary walked into the room. “Donna will flip when she hears about this.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Arnold asked as he joined Josh in sitting at the table in the corner of his room.

“When she worked for me, she never brought me…” Josh trailed off and shook his head. “Never mind. So, you can’t sleep either?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“Nervous?” Josh raised his eyebrows as he took a sip from his cup. His face scrunched up. “This is terrible coffee!”

“Well, I didn’t make it or anything,” Arnold defended, took a sip and grimaced as well. “I wonder if it’s tainted...”

“You think we should have had somebody taste it first?” Josh smiled.

“Perhaps,” Arnold smiled back and leaned back in his chair. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to piss off our security detail…today of all days.”

“You think we’re going to have trouble?” Josh’s voice grew serious.

“I think we have had trouble on days that were less poignant than today. I think we have witnessed security breeches and shootings on days that had less importance than today….”

“Yeah,” Josh sighed.

“Are you nervous?” Arnold asked, taking another sip of his terrible coffee.

“I don’t think I get nervous,” Josh shrugged.

“You’re joking, right?” Arnold fixed a narrowed gaze on Josh.

“No, I mean, I get anxious and edgy and agitated…and guilty…but I don’t really do nervous,” his eyes seemed lost in another time.

“And now? What would you say you are right now?”

“Anxious…and edgy. I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I feel optimistic simply because we got these guys to come back to the table…maybe they have the same sense of duty we do…maybe they want this to stop too, maybe they realize that if they don’t act now, these threats are never going to go away…maybe they’ve had enough. I don’t know…” Josh sipped his coffee again before setting it on the table in front of him. “But I also know that we aren’t having this meeting at the Hawk and Dove.”

“The Hawk and Dove?” Arnold raised his eyebrows.

“I mean that we’re not at some local restaurant or in a conference room at the DNC. We’re over here in the middle of…” He trailed off for a second. “I mean we’ve been here for over a month and you and I have grown accustomed to shootings on the street?!? What kind of…I mean…that’s the part that makes me edgy. The part where anything goes…my senses are on the edge…” They sat in a moment of contemplation before the Secretary spoke.

“See, that’s what I call nervous.”

“Well, then I just may be a little nervous,” Josh grinned.

“Yeah, me too,” Arnold nodded.

“How do you think it’s going to turn out?” Josh asked. “I mean…you know these guys better than I do, how do you think it’s going to turn out?”

“Honestly, Josh…I have no idea,” he shook his head. “How’s Donna? Have you spoken to her since…”

“No…” Josh’s voice was quiet. “I haven’t spoken to her yet…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m trying to hang on here…keep my head in the game…” Josh swallowed. “I know she’s okay. I know she’s safe, I mean…I am just afraid that if I actually speak to her…”

“That you might just crack?” Arnold offered.

“Yeah…and although I am not trying to overplay my role in what is about to go down, I don’t think that me cracking would benefit either of us.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Arnold shrugged.

“But?”

“But it might also help…”

* * * * * *

“I’m coming!” Donna called out as she hurried to answer the door. She had been home long enough to put on some music and change into more comfortable clothes while she waited for Toby to arrive. At precisely seven o’clock, the buzzer rang. As she opened the door, Donna was surprised to find how genuinely excited she was to see Toby.

“Mrs. Lyman, Mr. Ziegler is here to see you,” the agent at the door announced.

“Please come in,” she grinned and reached out to take one of the grocery bags from his hands.

“Thank you,” Toby was actually smiling as the door swung shut behind him.

“What’s for dinner?” She called out to him as she led the way to the kitchen.

“Chicken Cordon Bleu,” he called out following her.

“Really?” She questioned as she sat the bag on the counter.

“Yes, really.”

“You know how to make that?”

“It’s really not that…” Toby shrugged and began pulling items from the bags. “Yes, I know how to make that.”

“Okay,” Donna grinned. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“Do you have a tenderizer? Or a mallet?” Donna nodded and began searching through a drawer.

“Ahah!” She held up a metal meat tenderizer. “Now what?”

“Now, take this chicken and wrap it up in some wax paper…individually…”

“Okay…” She bit on her lower lip as she followed instruction. Toby began to mix together some ingredients for what appeared to be a sauce. “Okay…now what?”

“Now, you need to beat it.”

“Beat it?”

“Yeah…you know, pound it down, tenderize it…” He motioned with his hands. “It needs to be flat….so I can roll it.” Donna nodded, placed one piece of wax-paper wrapped chicken on the counter and swung the tenderizer down onto it with a loud whack. With a satisfied grin and a feeling of relief, she raised her arm up and slammed it down with another gratifying whack.

* * * * * *

“You think it might help if I talk to Donna?” Josh leaned forward in his chair.

“I think it might. Listen Josh, I know that I don’t really know you that well and you may be right, it may make you crack…but it also may help.”

“Did you call home?”

“What?”

“After the attacks and the embassy…did you call home?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And it helped,” Arnold sighed. “I mean at first it made me want to get home…even if I had to charter a boat…”

“A boat?”

“I’m making a point here.”

“Go ahead.”

“At first I wanted to get home….but eventually, well, eventually the voices of my grandchildren made me feel a little more at ease…a little more focused.”

“Yeah?” Josh asked.

“Yeah.”

“Yet here you are, still unable to sleep…”

“Yeah.”

“How do you explain that?”

“Well that’s easy,” Arnold shrugged with a smile. “I missed you.”

“Ah,” Josh grinned.

“And there’s always the coffee…” He gestured at the table. Josh chuckled and leaned back again.

“There’s always the coffee…” He shook his head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Arnold nodded.

“What would make this day a success for you? I mean short of an invasion and US dominance…” Josh joked.

“Or short of ‘live and let live’ and bailing them out later on down the road when it’s more costly to the American people?” Arnold joked back.

“Yeah, short of that,” Josh grinned.

“I don’t know. Do you know?”

“I don’t want to walk away without a cease fire.”

“Or a signed peace agreement, even if it’s for a short time, to allow for further talks and negotiations…” Arnold added. They sat in silence for a moment.

“That’s a pretty small wish list,” Josh spoke softly.

“It is.”

“Do you think we’ll get it?”

“I have no idea. You would think we would…it’s not much to ask…but I really have no idea,” Arnold shook his head.

“Yeah.”

“I can tell you one thing though,” the Secretary raised his eyes to look at the young man.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know if I’ve told you this yet or not…and I probably would never admit to it again…but it’s been great working with you.” Josh felt a surprising lump form in his throat.

“I can’t begin to tell you how honored…” He trailed off. “Thank you, sir. It’s been a pleasure.”

“But once we’re out of here…” Arnold warned with a smile.

“You can bet your ass…” Josh smiled back.

* * * * * *

“Wow!” Donna exclaimed with a satisfied smile on her face. “I mean it Toby…you can cook!”

“I take it you enjoyed your dinner?” He placed his napkin on the table and sat back in his chair with a warm smile.

“Are you kidding?” She gestured at her empty plate. “That was amazing…”

“I’m glad that you liked it.”

“I loved it…” She tossed her napkin on the table and took a sip of wine. “I loved it all, Toby. I know that you and I…we haven’t always been…” She trailed off for a moment and met Toby’s eyes with her own. “It means so much to me that you came over and cooked me this lovely meal…it really does.”

“Donna…”

“It really does, Toby,” she interrupted. “Hell, beating the chicken with the mallet alone was great therapy for me.”

“I’m happy I could help,” he took a drink of his wine and watched her face as she thought.

“I miss him,” she whispered. She was completely unsure as to why she felt safe enough with Toby to let her emotions come to the surface, but there they were.

“I miss him too,” he whispered back. And there it was. That was why she felt so safe, because Toby was never one to hide his feelings to save face and that alone made her feel safe.

“You know they intercepted a letter detailing how I was going to be abducted and tortured in order to get Josh to leave the table.”

“I didn’t know that…” Toby shook his head.

“Yeah. The letter came to the house, but the Secret Service has been checking our mail for what feels like years now…so they got it first.”

“I’m glad you didn’t see it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she shrugged and leaned forward on the table. “It really doesn’t matter. The letters, the threats, the Secret Service swooping in and taking me out of restaurants and bars…it doesn’t matter…”

“How do you mean?”

“I’m exponentially more worried about him…” And the room grew silent. Toby spun his glass around in his hand and Donna took a long drink from hers. “You know what I like about you the most, Toby?”

“No,” he shook his head.

“That I can sit here with you at my table…after eating an amazing meal that you just made for me…” She looked at him with watery eyes. “And I don’t feel pressured to entertain you. I don’t feel pressured to tell you about my day or to make small talk. It’s like you’re completely comfortable just sitting here…”

“I am.”

“And I don’t feel like I have to…”

“You don’t.”

“I know,” she nodded. “And that’s what I like about you the most.” She grinned and wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Well, thank you,” Toby stood and collected the plates from the table, pausing to kiss the top of Donna’s head before taking them to the kitchen.

* * * * * *

“I should be going,” the Secretary stood and collected his coffee cup.

“Did I bore you to sleep?” Josh grinned as he followed Arnold to the door.

“Something like that,” he smiled back. “We have a couple of hours and I really should try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, I suppose that may be wise,” Josh shrugged and opened the door.

“Maybe you should think about calling your wife.”

“I will give it some thought,” Josh nodded. “Thank you for the coffee.”

“Don’t mention it,” he shook his head. “Good night Josh.”

“I’ll see you soon,” he called before shutting the door. He turned and leaned back against it. He took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his hair, and let it out. As he looked around the room, his eyes settled on his cell phone resting on the nightstand. He had no idea how the rest of the day was going to go. No idea when they would be going home. No idea what obstacles lie on his way to going home. The mere contemplation of taking the Secretary’s suggestion caused the lump in his throat to return. He coughed in attempts to relieve it. Pushing himself off the door with his foot he made no haste as he made way for his cell phone.

* * * * * *

Donna smiled warmly at Toby as she thanked him for the umpteenth time that evening. Despite her protests, he had helped her clean up after dinner and was just now getting ready to head back to his hotel for the night.

“You know, if you need anything, even if I’m not in town…” Toby offered one last time as they stood at the door.

“I know Toby, I know. And I promise you that if I do, I will take you up on that.”

“Good,” he reached for the door handle and then turned back to her. “We need to get together when Josh comes back…”

“We do,” she grinned. “Maybe we’ll come up to see you for the weekend.”

“That would be good,” Toby leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Good night Donna.”

“Good night Toby,” she threw her arms around him in a hug. He nodded as he pulled away and walked through open the door. “And Toby,” she called and he turned back to look at her. “Thank you for the ‘when’.”

“You’re welcome,” he muttered. Their eyes met for a moment of joint gratitude for the evening before he turned to leave. Donna watched as he walked out of her line of sight before closing the door behind her. She turned and leaned against it. For the first time since the ‘incident’ she was happy and content and thought that maybe she might be able to get some sleep. She was pleased and surprised that it was Toby who brought the contentment to her doorstep. As she pushed herself off the door and started down the hall to their bedroom, her cell phone rang out. Turning on her heel, she hurried back to the living room and lunged for the phone.

* * * * * *

“Hello?” Her voice was breathless and he instantly felt weak in the knees. The lump in his throat grew. “Hello?” She asked again.

“Donna.”

“Oh my God,” the tears sprang quickly back to her eyes. “Josh?”

“Yeah,” was all he could manage.

“But your number…it didn’t show up on my caller id…” He cleared his throat with a cough before he could go on.

“It must be a security thing.”

“I can’t believe…I mean…how are you?” She needed to sit down. She quickly found the nearest flat surface and sank down to sit on the coffee table.

“I’m okay…I…how are you?” His body sank onto the bed beneath him.

“I’m…I’m good Josh, I’m good,” she tried to mask the worry in her voice.

“I’m so…glad to hear that,” he tried to do the same.

“Shouldn’t you…I don’t know…shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“I can’t sleep right now.”

“Oh?”

“We’re meeting tomorrow…today… later today we’re meeting,” he did his best to explain. “I can’t really say…but it’s today. Today’s the day.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s a big day.”  
"Yeah?"

"I have no idea...I don't know when I'll talk to you next...or what's going to happen...but. .."

“I’m sure you’ll be wonderful.”  
“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“You’re biased.”

“So I’m told.”

“He was right…”

“What?”

“Arnie…Secretary Vinnick…he was right.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah…hearing your voice…it didn’t make me crack…it made me feel better.”

“Yeah?” Despite their best efforts to the contrary, silent tears slipped from both sets of eyes.

“Yeah.”

To Be Continued….


	11. The Journey-Chapter Eleven

The first day of meetings had been highly anti-climatic. Josh had expected arguing and even shouting. Josh had been prepared for a tense, highly stressful day. He had even braced himself for possible mobs and protests. He was faced with none of those things. He was, however, greeted with a long, boring day of negotiating the terms of the negotiations meeting. They had spent the day going over agendas and how the delegates were to be addressed. He hadn’t confirmed it, but he was certain that Arnold Vinnick was just as frustrated with the current situation as he was. Just a few days earlier they had begged the President to allow them to stay, citing the need to bring this conflict to an end. And here they were after a day of meetings…nowhere. His only reprise was that after the twelve hours of grueling ‘discussion’, they had agreed to finally have the meeting they had all come there to have. It would be in two days. They would take tomorrow off and then return  
to the table, which would now be round apparently, and have the meeting he and the Secretary had come all this way to have.

The ride back to the hotel had been a silent one. They had nodded their good-byes as the parted at Josh’s room. Josh managed to drag himself into his room, slam the door behind him and divest himself of his shoes all in one swift movement. He was exhausted; mentally and physically. He had built himself up for a wild and crazy day and he thought the letdown from the monotonous turn of events took more of a toll on his body than the craziness from earlier that week had. After a long hot shower and two hastily made Gin and Tonics he had thrown together from the contents of the mini bar, Josh fell into a deep sleep. The first deep sleep he had in quite some time. So deep, in fact, that when the Secret Service began pounding on his door in the middle of the night, it took him a few moments to register what was happening.

“Mr. Lyman!” The voice rang out. “It’s the Secret Service! We need you to open the door right now!”

“What?” Josh muttered as tossed the pillow off of his face and sat up in bed.

“Mr. Lyman!”

“I’m coming!” He shouted when he realized what was happening. He hurried from the bed and swung open the door. Two agents rushed into his room; one going straight for the window, the other turning to address him.

“Are you okay, Mr. Lyman?” The agent asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbled looking around as his mind tried to digest what was happening. “What the hell is going on?”

“There’s been a security breech,” the agent told him and turned as Arnold Vinnick and two additional agents joined them in the room.

“What the hell is going on?” Arnold asked as the last agent shut the door to Josh’s room.

“A security breech,” Josh mumbled and scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Where?” The Secretary asked taking a seat at the table in Josh’s room.

“The Prime Minister’s delegate was found shot and killed in his room ten minutes ago,” one of the agents told the two men after the room was secured.

“Oh my God,” Josh sighed leaning against the dresser in the room.

“How in the hell did that happen?” The Secretary asked.

“We don’t know,” an agent answered.

“Who did it?” Josh asked.

“We don’t know,” the same agent turned to Josh. “We have very little detail about what happened. The delegate’s personal security was found shot and killed in the room as well. We were given an alert of a security breech and told to secure the two of you. We are expecting a secure phone call here in your room in about five minutes with information from the Prime Minister’s people.”

“What does this mean for us?” The Secretary asked.

“I’m sorry sir?”

“What does this mean for us? Josh and I? Have there been any threats? Are we….Jesus…are we at war now?”

“Arnie…” Josh started with a hint of fear in his voice.

“I’m serious Josh,” he turned to the young man. “The President was going to airlift us out of here because of some letters sent to our homes and some botched attempts over seas. You think he’s going to keep us here now that members of the negotiations have been shot and killed?”

“Yeah, probably not,” Josh admitted and sank into a chair at the table.

“We don’t know what’s happening yet,” the agent addressed the two of them. “There have not been immediate threats made to the two of you. There were actually no threats made at all today to any of the members, to the best of our knowledge. This appears to be completely out of the blue. The President has been notified and we were told to secure you. I would imagine that any moment now we will have much more information…”

The ringing of the phone cut through the room. Both the Secretary and Josh looked to the phone and then to each other. An agent stepped forward and lifted the receiver. After a moment he turned to Josh.

“It’s for you.”

“It’s for me?” Josh raised his eyebrows. “Is it the President?”

“No sir,” the agent shook his head. “It’s the Prime Minister.” The room froze for a moment and nobody moved.

“THE Prime Minister?” Josh finally managed to squeak out.

“Yes, sir,” the agent nodded. “He would like to speak with you.”

“Is this…is this a secured line?” Josh asked taking the receiver from the agent.

“Yes, Sir.”

“This is Josh Lyman,” he said into the phone. He listened and nodded for a moment and then his eyes went wide. “Sir? Are you sure? I mean…” He nodded some more and opened his mouth to speak again only to find the line had disconnected. He slowly and deliberately placed the phone back in its cradle.

“Josh?” The Secretary was the first to speak.

“Mr. Lyman, is everything okay?” An agent asked.

“I…” He turned to look at the Secretary.

“Josh, what is it?” Arnold leaned forward on the table.

“That was the Prime Minister…”

“Is he calling off the talks? Is he sending in his military?” The Secretary rattled through possible scenarios.

“No…” Josh shook his head slowly.

“Then what the hell…”

“He’s on his way here,” Josh blurted out. “He is coming to the table. He wants to commence with the negotiation talks right away and he is coming as his sole representative.”

“What?” Arnold Vinnick rose to his feet.

“I said he is coming…he’s on his way. He wants to pick up meeting negotiations in an hour…he’ll be here in an hour…” Josh was stunned by the information himself.

“He can’t just come here…”

“He IS just coming here.”

“But the balance…the Premier is not going to like the way this looks…”

“Then get him on the phone,” Josh motioned towards the table.

“Get him on the phone?” The Secretary looked at Josh incredulously.

“Listen, we have been sitting in endless meetings about nothing…for a long time. The Prime Minister himself is on his way to…he’s coming to the table…and you think we should call him up and tell him to stay at home because of the balance…because of the way it looks?”

“I think that if we want to have the meetings we need the Premier to send somebody and if we tell him that the Prime Minister is coming in place of his dead delegate that he’s going to…”

“Then call him!” Josh interrupted slamming his hand down on the table. “I’m sorry…Arnie…I’m sorry…I just…this is our chance. We have been waiting…God, we have been here forever and if we have to have this meeting in the middle of the night in our pajamas at the local IHOP then we are going to have the God Damned meeting…” The two men were starring at each other taking deep breaths to calm their heightened nerves.

Arnold reached down, lifted the phone and, not breaking his gaze with Josh, pressed a button. “Get me the Premier’s delegate on the phone, now.”

* * * * * *

Donna had been in her office for only a few hours going over notes for her meeting with the President and the First Lady. The Rosemont event was closing in very soon and they were meeting to finalize the grand event. She was deep in her notes when her door opened and her assistant came in with a look of fear on her face.

“What can I do for you?” Donna asked without looking up.

“Ma’am,” her assistant started with a voice that caused Donna to stop what she was doing.

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know if you want me to…” Her assistant shook her head. “I’m not sure if you want me to tell you when these things happen, but…” Just then Corey stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Donna stood behind her desk.

“Ma’am,” her assistant started again.

“Would you please just…what is it?” Donna demanded.

“One of the delegates at the negotiations was found shot and killed in his room just hours ago,” Corey offered stepping forward.

“Josh?” Donna came around the desk.

“No, not Mr. Lyman,” Corey hurried ahead. “The Prime Minister’s delegate. Mr. Lyman is fine. He and the Secretary are both fine…they are heading back to the meetings right now…”

“Back to the meetings? How are they going to meeting if the delegate is…” She couldn’t even bring herself to say it.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that Ma’am,” Corey offered a sympathetic smile.

“Okay…” Donna leaned against her desk and thought for a moment. “But Josh is…he’s okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Okay…” Donna gulped and turned to her assistant. “You came in here to tell me…”

“They were running the report of the assassination on CNN. I didn’t want you to…I wanted you to hear it from me instead of…” She motioned to the TV in the room.

“Okay…” Donna smiled at her assistant. “Okay. Well, then…let’s get back to work. I have a meeting in the Oval in a few hours.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” her assistant nodded and followed Corey as he stepped out of the room. As the door shut behind them, Donna’s head tipped back and she looked up at the ceiling, asking any God that was listening to stay by Josh’s side because although she had no idea what was happening, she knew he would need his strength and wits about him.

* * * * * *

Forty-five minutes later Secretary Vinnick and Josh were back in the meeting room. It was in the middle of the night and it was pitch black outside. The room was in disarray. The staff had begun moving out the rectangular table from the room in order to replace it with the circular room. The new table was in the room, but it was only half set up with the standard notebooks, pens, and pitchers of drinking water. Arnold Vinnick had called the Premier who had agreed to allow his delegate to meet with the Prime Minister. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was more concerned about the security threats than the possible shift in balance. Regardless of the reason both Arnold and Josh were on the brink of being completely terrified and unbelievably excited about what was going to happen once the men arrived back at the table.

They had only had time to settle into their seats and spread their paperwork in front of them before the room became alive with excitement. The Prime Minister stepped into the room with a large security detail followed closely by the Premier’s representative. Josh and Arnold rose to their feet and extended their hands. The translator, looking extremely nervous and jittery took his seat somewhere between the Secretary and the Prime Minister. As the men settled in their seats, Josh took one last look at the Secretary before taking a deep breath and jumping in.

“I would like to begin by thanking you both for being so willing to return to the table…”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” the interpreter interrupted on behalf of the Prime Minister. Josh looked quickly to the Secretary who leaned forward on the table.

“I’m sorry?” Josh asked.

“I said I’m going to have to stop you right there,” the Prime Minister continued looking pointedly at Josh. “I want to cut through all of the crap…all of the small talk…I didn’t come her in the middle of the night to go over the size and shape of the damned table!”

“Sir, I understand…” Josh began with a soft voice.

“No, I don’t think you do understand!” The Prime Minister pounded a fist on the table. “Do you have children, Mr. Lyman?”

“I…no, I don’t have children, Sir.”

“My children were pulled off of their playground at school because there was a bomb stashed…”

“I know Sir, and I am so sorry that you had to…”

“And last night I had to call a woman who was almost abducted…and tell her that her husband was found shot and killed in his hotel room!”

“Sir…” The Secretary made an attempt.

“And all you men have done is haggle over the shape of the table and the agenda of these meetings.”

“Sir,” Josh spoke. “I assure you that we have tried to…”

“Mr. Lyman, do you want to have children?”

“I…sir…” Josh was stunned by the speediness of the conversation. “I do sir.”

“And you sir,” the Prime Minister turned to the Premier’s delegate. “Do you have children?”

“Yes, I do,” the delegate nodded.

“Sir, with all due respect…” The Secretary cut in.

“And you Mr. Secretary, I know you have grandchildren,” he turned to Arnold Vinnick and then looked back at the other men all now leaning tensely into the table and into the discussion. “I cannot continue to allow this to happen!”

The room was silent for a moment before Josh cleared his voice.

“Sir, we are all here because we want to come to some sort of agreement…some sort of understanding…”

“Mr. Lyman,” the Prime Minister interrupted, standing and leaning forward on the table. “I am tired. I am tired of the fighting. I am tired of the killing. I am tired of worrying that my children and their children and their children are going to inherit this mayhem that we are currently struggling through! I am tired of having to send out a ten man detail with my family every time they leave the palace! I am quite simply TIRED!” He slammed his fist down on the table.

“Sir,” Josh raised his voice. “Sir, with all due respect…what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that…” The Prime Minister looked at the Premier’s delegate and then back to Josh. “I’m saying that if you and the Secretary are here on orders from the President to go home with a cease fire agreement, then tell me what you have, tell me what it is you and the Premier have been working on…and let’s get down to business, because I will die before I leave here without signing one.”

Josh held his breath, afraid that his breathing might somehow shatter the moment that was before them. He followed the Prime Minister’s gaze as it fell on the Premier’s delegate who looked just as shocked as Josh.

“Sir,” the Prime Minister spoke to the delegate. “Are you prepared to sign a cease fire agreement on behalf of the Premier?” After a moment of contemplation, the delegate took a deep breath.

“I am.”

“Then let’s get started,” the Prime Minister looked to the rest of the room and took his seat.

Josh fell back into his chair, stunned into silence. If it weren’t for the Secretary who sat next to him with an equally stunned expression, Josh would have been sure he was dreaming. With a careful breath, he raised his eyebrows at the Secretary who shrugged and opened his notebook. It was beginning.

* * * * * *

Three hours later, the Prime Minister slammed his notebook shut and looked out at the rest of the room with a bittersweet smile on his face. The Premier’s delegate took off his glasses and tossed them on the table before leaning back into his seat. The signed Cease Fire Agreement sat in the middle of the table. Josh and Arnold sat on the edges of their seats, afraid that if they moved, it would all end, the document would disappear and they would be back at the beginning.

“Thank you, thank you both,” the Prime Minister turned first to Arnold Vinnick and then to Josh. They both stood. “I think this immediate cease fire will ease the tension in both of our regions,” he spoke to the Premier’s delegate.

“I have already spoken to the Premier and he is drafting up an official statement,” the young man shook the Prime Minister’s hand.

“Fantastic,” the Prime Minister nodded. “I will be releasing a statement from the palace when I return home.”

“As you can imagine, we will be advising the President to make an announcement on the cease fire and further negotiations just as soon as possible,” Arnold said with a grin.

“Of course, of course,” the Prime Minister returned the grin. “We can send representatives to the US in a week to work out the details of the ongoing meetings after we give the cease fire time to take place? They can report back to us.”

“Of course,” Arnold Vinnick nodded. They had received their wish list; there would be a cease fire in the area and continued peace talks on neutral US soil after the first successful month of the cease fire.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I left town quite quickly,” the Prime Minister collected his coat. “I have a plane waiting for me and I intend to be on it and heading home within the hour.”

“Yes sir,” the Premier’s delegate nodded in agreement. “I too should be on my way. The Premier is expecting me back as soon as the meeting has ended.”

“I would imagine you are both ready to go home?” The Prime Minister turned to Josh and Arnold.

“That would be fantastic, sir,” Josh smiled and shook his outstretched hand.

“Thank you for your time sir,” Arnold Vinnick shook the Prime Minister’s hand before he slipped from the room taking his detail with him.

They repeated the same pleasantries with the Prime Minister’s delegate before he slipped from the meetings as well. In just a few short minutes, Josh, Arnold and their Secret Service detail were the only men left in the room. Josh settled back into his seat and let out a long sigh. He couldn’t wait to call the President with the news. He pulled out his cell phone, hoping for the signal he knew would not be there. He clicked the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.

“We can call him from a secured line at the hotel,” Arnold spoke as he sat on the edge of the table.

“He’s going to be…” Josh let off with a grin.

“Yeah. He is,” Arnold nodded matching Josh’s grin. “Can you believe we just…”

“No,” Josh shook his head. “I can’t. I really can’t.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t leave this sitting around,” Arnold smiled and picked up the signed agreement from the middle of the table. He offered it to Josh who shook his head.

“Nah, if you knew me…” He laughed. “Hell, you do know me. I shouldn’t be the one to hold onto that.”

“I see your point,” the Secretary grinned and stuffed the form into his briefcase. “Come on; let’s get back to the hotel. We’ll call the President when we get there…and then pack up to head home.”

“In under a week,” Josh sighed.

“Well, a week plus the six before that,” the Secretary gathered his items. “Come on, Josh, let’s go.”

“You know, you go ahead. I’m going to stay and…can we do that?” He asked an agent. “Can the Secretary go ahead and we wait for a moment?”

“Yes, sir,” the agent acknowledged. “They can take the first car, we can take the second.”

“Do you mind?” Josh asked the agent. “I want to just….sit with this for a moment.”

“I don’t make those decisions sir. I follow you.”

“Okay,” Josh stood and turned to the Secretary. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not…although I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would want to spend more time in here…”

“I’m sentimental,” Josh shrugged.

“You’re something,” Arnold laughed and shook Josh’s hand. “Don’t stay too long, I want to get the hell out of here.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Josh smiled and watched as the Secretary left him and two other agents in the room. Flipping off the lights, Josh walked to the window and looked out over the city. It had been such a long, strange journey. He watched as the Secretary loaded into one of the cars and sped down the street. He let his eyes wander down the block. The city was still sleeping. There was hardly anyone out at that hour. It seemed almost peaceful. As he moved to turn away from the window, something caught his eye. A few men were standing next to the building pointing, and speaking very quickly and somewhat panicked. Josh studied them for a moment, wondering what might be going on. Suddenly there was a loud boom and a quick flash of light.

Josh looked up in shock and saw Rodney lunge toward him and pull his body to the ground, covering it with his own. As soon as they hit the floor, a deafening explosion rang through Josh’s ears and his whole world went black

* * * * * *

“After Mrs. Santos finishes her speech, sir, you will join her in cutting the ribbon,” Donna sat in the Oval Office with the President and First Lady. She was covering the schedule of events for the shelter opening the First Couple would be attending that weekend.

“So, I don’t actually have to give a speech?” He asked Donna, eyebrows raised.

“No, Sir,” Donna smiled. “But you certainly could if you would like…”

“No, no, no Donna,” he interrupted with a grin. “I think I will actually enjoy playing second fiddle to my wife.” He patted her knee.

“I doubt that,” Helen rolled her eyes and the President chuckled softly and went to stand next to his desk.

“Now, following the ribbon cutting, Mrs. Thompson, the Director will take the two of you on a tour of the shelter…” Donna trailed off as the door to the Oval Office opened and a somber looking Sam hurried in.

“Excuse me Ma’am, Sir,” he looked to the President.

“What is it Sam?”

“Sir, I’m going to need to speak to you.”

“Go ahead,” the President gestured.

“Sir,” Sam gestured towards the ladies. When he did, Donna caught the grave look in his eyes and Helen Santos watched as Donna’s expression changed.

“Sam, what is it?” The President insisted. Sam hesitated. Donna swallowed and gripped the arm of the chair.

“Sir, with all due respect, Donna and Mrs. Santos do not have Code Word Clearance and…”

“Code Word Clearance? Sam…she’s my wife,” the President started.

“Sir.” Sam’s voice was strong and definitive. The President caught Sam’s gaze and stopped. Donna’s throat went dry. Helen caught her breath. They all knew then exactly what this was about. “I need to speak to you right now.”

“Mr. President, it’s okay,” Donna stood slowly and cleared her throat. “We can finish this another time.”

“Donna,” Helen stood and reached out to her Chief of Staff.

“Mrs. Santos, if you’ll excuse me?” Donna looked to her boss.

“Of course. Do you need me to…” she trailed off. Donna shook her head.

“No, Ma’am. We’re done for now,” Donna looked from Helen to Sam and back again. “I’m going to go back to my office…if you need me.” She made brief eye contact with Sam who looked at her sympathetically and then dropped his eyes to the floor. She felt a lump grow in her throat as she willed her body to walk out the door.

“Thank you,” she nodded at the group and shut the door behind her. Helen Santos watched as Donna left and then turned back to the men.

“I think I’ll go up to the residence,” she walked to her husband and placed her hand on his arm.

“Thank you,” the President smiled at her.

“Thank you Ma’am,” Sam nodded. She nodded back and left the two men in the Oval Office.

“Well, Sam,” Matt Santos fixed his eyes on Sam. “What is it?”

“Sir,” Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. “There’s been an explosion.” The President’s eyes grew dark.

“Josh?” His voice was barely above a whisper. Sam’s eyes fell to the floor.

* * * * * *

Sam and the President had quickly left the Oval Office and hurried to the Situation Room. When Sam finally emerged, two hours later, he went straight to the other side of The House as quickly as he could. He had to be the first one to find Donna. As he entered the First Lady’s suite, Donna’s assistant rose to her feet.

“Mr. Seaborn,” she greeted him.

“Hello,” he nodded, not in the mood for small talk. “I need to see Donna, right away. Can I go in?”

“No,” she said and his eyes narrowed. “I mean, you could go in, but she’s not in there.”

“Where is she?” He asked.

“I’m not sure, sir. She went to the West Wing a few hours ago to meet with the First Lady and the President about the shelter opening and she hasn’t been back since. Would you like me to have her call you when she returns?”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Sam shook his head and began out the door. “You call me when she returns…and if I haven’t seen her by then, I’ll come over here.”

“Yes, sir.” And with that, Sam was out the door. He hurried back to the West Wing and to the Chief of Staff’s office. He pushed through the doors and looked for her, thinking she may have decided to wait for him there. Finding nothing, he stuck his head out to Liz’s desk.

“Have you seen Donna?”

“No,” she replied. “Would you like me to track her down?”

“No. Thank you though,” he stepped back into the office. He racked his brain. Had she gone home? Would she be in The Mess? He was beginning to feel more than a little panicked.

“Sam?” It was Liz. He raised his eyebrows. “Ginger just called.”

“And?”

“She knows where Mrs. Lyman is.”

Sam hurried through the lobby and nearly jogged to Ginger’s desk.

“Where is she?” He asked, almost out of breath. Ginger raised her hand and pointed to Sam’s office. Corey, Donna’s agent was standing outside the door, one of the signs of the recent rise in the security level.

“She’s been in there for hours,” she said softly.

“Thank you. I’m going in there now. Only interrupt me for the President, okay Ginger?” She nodded her head and watched as Sam walked slowly to his office and shut the door behind him.

* * * * * *  
There she was. She was sitting quietly on the couch next to the door. She was starring blankly into space. She wasn’t crying but there was something quite eerie about the expression on her face. It was as if she already knew something terrible had happened and she was only waiting for confirmation. She barely noticed that Sam had entered until he shut the door and sat down next to her on the couch.

“Donna…” He started.

“Sam…” she replied without looking at him.

“I went to your office looking for you.”

“I came here,” she swallowed and looked down at her hands in her lap. “This used to be his office…and there were times, when he would be at a meeting on the hill or in Senior Staff or I would have one of those rare moments with nothing to do…and I would come here…to wait for him, to watch for him to come through the gate…to just relax. So when you came in to tell the President….” She took a moment and swallowed again. “I just felt like coming here. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” he said softly. “Donna…”

“Sam,” she interrupted, turning to face him. “Is he…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

“Donna, there was an explosion in the Middle East.” The words fell into her head.

“Josh?” She asked with tears in her eyes. “Is he…is he dead?”

“Donna…” Sam put his hand on her arm.

“Sam…” She looked into his eyes.

“There was a…there was a…” He was speechless.

“God, Sam, stop meandering. I need you to tell me.” She stood and starred down at him. “Sam, is Josh…is he…God, Sam, is Josh dead?” Sam looked up at her, took a deep breath and stood.

“Donna,” he put his hand on her shoulder. “I swear to you, I don’t know.” He shook his head before pulling her to his chest and holding her tight. Donna, knowing full well what Sam was telling her, buried her head and began to cry.

To Be Continued…..


	12. The Journey-Chapter Twelve

“What in the hell?” Arnold Vinnick blurted out when his two agents who had previously been walking beside him, shoved him into his hotel room and slammed the door shut behind them both. One was running around the room while the other spoke into his wrist and listened intently to his ear piece.

“Mr. Secretary, pack what you want to take with you, and pack it now.”

“Is there…what the hell is going on?” He asked again.

“There’s been an explosion.”

“An explosion?” He turned to the agent suddenly worried. “Where?”

“At the Conference Center…”

“Oh my God,” the Secretary brought his hand to his throat. “Was Josh still there?”

“Sir, we,”

“Was Josh still there?!?!” He yelled.

“We haven’t been able to secure Josh’s location, Mr. Secretary.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means…it means, we can’t reach his agents…”

“Oh dear God…” Arnold muttered and then made a move for the door. One of the agents grabbed his hand and put his body between the Secretary and the door.

“Sir…”

“We need to go back to the Center…don’t we? We need to go and get Josh…”

“Sir, you need to pack what you want to take with you right now.”

“Listen…” The Secretary began.

“Mr. Secretary, this is not up for discussion. We are leaving for the embassy in five minutes and you need to have with you whatever you want to take home because we will be boarding a plane for the US.”

“What about Josh?”

“Mr. Secretary…”

“What about JOSH?!?” He yelled as one of the agents handed him his suitcase.

“We are going into emergency protocol. We are evacuating the city. If Mr. Lyman’s agents are still alive they will be mobilizing…”

“IF his agents are still alive?” Arnold interrupted. “What if they aren’t alive?”

“Sir, we are going into emergency protocol. Right. Now. If his agents are dead then he has been trained, just as you, to make his way to the embassy as soon as possible.”

“What if he’s…what if…” Arnold trailed off suddenly feeling weak. All of the work they had put into the cease fire, all of the work they had put into the discussions and he had no idea if he would be seeing his partner again.

“Sir,” the agent’s tone was softer. “Mr. Lyman and his agents know what to do in this scenario, as do we. Our job, right now, is to get you to the embassy so we can get you both home safely. We are leaving this building in three minutes. Sir, I need you to pack your things, right now.” Reluctantly and with a look of great sorrow, he began to pack his bags.

* * * * * *

The first thing that came back was his hearing. There was a high-pitched ringing in his ears. Slowly he started to feel tingling in his arms and legs. Then he felt the weight of the agent who had pushed him to the floor. Josh opened his eyes and waved his hand in the air to clear away the dust that was gathering in the room.

“Rodney,” he coughed. “Rodney.” Josh nudged the Secret Service agent whose body remained motionless. Josh struggled to move. As he pulled himself out from under Rodney, he knew. He brought his fingers to Rodney’s neck and felt for a pulse. His head hung as he found there was none. Rodney was dead. He saw the large chunk of concrete and sharp glass that had slammed into his chest.

“Oh My God,” he muttered. That could have been him. His mind spiraled for a moment as he slowly stood to take in the room.

The explosion had literally blown a hole in the far west section of the room. The only other people in the room had been his two agents and they were lying in piles of rubble and smoke. Instinctively he looked frantically around the room for Arnold Vinnick before remembering that he had left for the hotel already. Josh was alone.

Josh hurried to the hall. After checking the doorknob for heat, he pulled the door open. He was met with a hazy smoke and an alarming silence.

He glanced up and down the hallway. There were a few random people, most likely staffers who had been called back at the late hour. They were hurrying towards each end of the hall. He walked into the hall for a moment while his mind tried to grasp the situation. There had been an explosion. They had all signed the Cease Fire, the Prime Minister, the Premier’s delegate, and the Secretary had all left and Josh had stayed behind.

There had been an explosion. His two agents were dead and Josh was standing in the hall alone.

This was what they had been briefed on. This was the emergency scenario. Knowing that, he knew that Arnold Vinnick and his Secret Service detail, having heard of the explosion were most likely on their way to the embassy. He also knew that had his agents survived, they would be on their way as well.

He could hear the screaming in the street and he could hear the sirens that were blaring in the distance. And he knew. He knew that he needed to act right that second or those would be the last things he would hear.

Quickly he darted back into the room and ran to what was left of the window. He scanned the street to see what he would be running into. He noted that the explosion had demolished most of the west side of the building, but a few random people were still running from the gaping hole left behind. The car that had stayed behind for him was completely demolished. He scanned the night sky for some sort of sign. He wasn’t sure if he was looking up to the God that he had not spoken to in years or if he was looking up for signs of the United States military. Either way, he was looking up for assurance. Finding none, he swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to leave that room for the last time.

This time when he glanced down the hallway, there was no one. He was alone and the smoke was worse. He made a split decision and turned to his right. His mind raced as he recalled the path he had taken through the building that morning. His eyes were watering and he could feel the sting of the smoke on the back of his throat. As he fought to see through the smoke, he pulled his coat off and covered his mouth with it. He pushed open the doors and burst into the stairway. He peered down the stairwell, desperately trying to see the bottom; to see if it was safe to go this route. There were four floors between him and the bottom; that he knew. He had counted on his way up. It was some sort of maniacal way of controlling his uncontrollable surroundings. He didn’t know how to solve all of the chaos and discord in the Middle East, but he knew how many floors were between the meeting room and the ground. As he took his first steps down the winding staircase he knew  
that Donna would laugh when he told her this story. She would laugh when he told her how many floors were between him and the ground. She would laugh when he told her why he had remembered that. God, he hoped he would make it home to hear her laugh.

As he rounded a corner somewhere between the third and second floor there was another explosion. He was thrown back by the weight of the blast and his body slammed into the wall before he hit the floor. He heard the bones in his shoulder snap. He felt the quick blast of pain before his arm went numb. Using his good arm to grasp the railing, he pulled himself up off the floor.

As he rounded past the doors to the second floor, he heard the loudest cracking noise. He looked up just in time to escape the falling debris as the ceiling and the floor above him crashed down in a wave of smoke and flames. The building was on fire.

This was fantastic, he thought. They had literally just shaken hands on the peace agreement that he and Arnold Vinnick had been brokering for almost two months. They had literally just agreed to work together to put an end to the war, the chaos, and the destruction. They had just agreed and BAM, two explosions later, his agents were dead and Josh was stuck in a stairwell with a numb arm and the building was on fire.

It took him only seconds to regain his composure and pull himself together. As most of the burning debris had fallen down to the floors below him, Josh found no option other than to make his way out of the stairwell and onto the second floor. As he pushed through the doors, he saw that this area had sustained a far greater blast than the room he had been in. As he made his way down the hall, he tried hard to look away from the few bodies that were scattered throughout. He could barely see the other end of the hallway and he could hear the crackling of the fire as it spread throughout the building. He looked to his right where the hallway met another in a T shape. Halfway down the hall the flames were lapping up and around the walls consuming them as they burned.

“Come on Lyman,” he muttered to himself. He tried to move, but his legs were heavier than they were before. He couldn’t quite tear his eyes away from the destruction. He ran his hands through his hair and looked down at his feet, willing them to move. He felt lost in a trance.

Another loud explosion jarred him from the trance. The building shook, but nothing fell. He nodded to himself and turned to run. Then he saw her. She was only about ten feet away from him and cowering in a doorway. She couldn’t have been more than eight. She was tiny and covered in dust and clearly afraid. Josh looked from her to the lapping flames and he felt his throat close.

He had been here before. His mind was racing. He felt time slow down as his heart rate sped up. He was frozen in that spot for a moment. Frozen as his mind saw the flames. Frozen as his lungs inhaled the smoke. Frozen as he fought the wave of nausea that washed over him. He had been here before. He knew he had to get out of the building. He knew that the building was on fire and he knew what would happen if he stayed, but his mind kept flashing back to his childhood. Back to his past. Back to the last time he was forced to flee a burning building. He had to leave. But he knew that he could not move from that spot without that young girl. Not this time.

He waved to her, called to her, motioned to her to come to him, but she was paralyzed with fear and refused to move. Suddenly his mind was bouncing from the present to the past. His mind was mixing images of this moment and this fire with images of the fire that took his sister’s life and almost his. He felt as if he were having flashbacks of that fateful night when he ran from the house and his sister died. Tears sprang to his eyes and his throat grew tight. He couldn’t shake the overwhelming feelings that were bubbling up inside of him. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He had to get the little girl out of there.

He glanced quickly from the girl to the fire. Without another thought he closed the ten feet between them and gathered her tiny body with his good arm, wrapping his coat around her. Although afraid, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. As his legs carried the two of them out of the hallway and around the corner, the ceiling began crashing behind him. Josh glanced back only once before running to the stairwell opposite of where he had begun. He burst through the doors and down the last flight of stairs.

When he reached the bottom floor, he pushed his way through the gathering rubble and out into the street, where his lungs gasped for the clean air of the night. His mind and stomach was reeling from the mixture of smoke and memories.

After a few seconds, his breathing had slowed and his mind had begun to focus and he looked down at the little girl, her face buried in his chest.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “It’s okay.” She looked up to him and whispered something in a language he did not understand. He held her close to him and stroked her hair as he had the strongest memory of his sister. He squeezed his eyes shut in efforts to force the tears back. “It’s okay,” he whispered to the girl.

As he began to take in the sights, an older woman came running out of an alley and up to Josh. He had no idea what she was saying, but he could tell by the emotional reaction from her and the child he was holding, they recognized one another. He released the girl almost reluctantly into her arms and smiled when the older woman planted a kiss on his ashy cheek.

As the two hurried away from him, Josh let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He looked up at the building from which he had just emerged and felt his heart skip a beat. The whole side of the building was demolished, along with parts from the surrounding buildings. He looked quickly around him and noticed that there were people running for shelter while military vehicles approached the bombing site. He heard sirens in the distance.

He felt extremely hot despite the absence of the sun and dizzy from what must have been a combination of the smoke, the fire, the death, and the memories. As it all caught up with him, he bent over, resting his hands on his knees and threw up onto the sandy ground below him. He wiped his mouth with his coat and then searched the pockets for anything he might need. Finding nothing, he quickly discarded the jacket and fought to gain control of his breathing and his balance.

As his body settled down, his mind grew sharper and he knew that he must get moving. He must get moving quickly. He had very little time left to get to the embassy. He pulled out his wallet and took the emergency card from a spot right behind his Driver’s license. Locating the building he had just left on the small map, he quickly found his route to the embassy. Trying as much as he could to fit in and look inconspicuous, he started walking towards what he hoped would be the beginning of his journey home. Once he was what must have been a few blocks away, Josh turned in time to see the building crumble to the ground. The screams and the dust faded as Josh ran from the scene.

* * * * * *

“Donna…” Sam said softly as she shifted in his arms. Her crying was slowing and she was growing quiet.

“I...” She pulled back to look up at him.

“Donna…” He started again. He was quite sure he felt his hear break when he looked at her tear-streaked face. “I’m so sorry that I don’t have more information for you…I just…I had to come and find you.”

“What happened?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“There was an explosion,” Sam gulped back the lump in his throat.

“At the hotel?”

“No, at the Conference Center.”

“But it’s night time there,” her eyes grew wide. “They would have been at the hotel sleeping, they…they should be fine.”

“No,” Sam shook his head. “I’m sorry, but they had gone back for a meeting…”

“Oh,” her face fell. “Have they…what do they know…”

“We have had confirmation from the agents with the Secretary and they are en route to the embassy right now. They have an emergency evacuation plan to follow…and they are on their way to the embassy.”

“What about Josh’s agents? What do they say?” She began walking around the small office.

“We haven’t been able to locate Josh’s agents.”

“No,” she brought a hand to her head. “Have they sent somebody to the building to look for them?”

“No…Donna…” Sam took a deep breath. “They can’t…there’s not….the building has been destroyed. There were multiple explosions and it was on fire…”

“Oh my God,” she felt her throat closing.

“Donna…”

“What…I mean what happens next? Are they going to look for him…are they going to….what happens next Sam?”

“The agents on site have called up emergency protocol. That means that wherever they are, whatever they are doing…they have fifteen minutes from call time to get to the embassy…”

“Fifteen minutes for what?”

“They have fifteen minutes to make contact with the embassy before…” He trailed off realizing he may be disclosing too much.

“Before what?” She fought to catch her breath.

“Wheels up…” Sam looked down at his hands.

“Sam…are you…what if they can’t find Josh? What if he doesn’t make it? Sam, what if he’s hurt and he doesn’t get there in fifteen minutes?!?” Her eyes were wide.

“Donna, I…” He reached out for her.

“Stop,” she put up her hand. “Please, Sam. Please don’t tell me anymore…I, I don’t think I can…”

“Okay,” Sam felt terrible. He reached out again to put his arms around her, but she backed away and wiped at her eyes.

“Sam…” She eyed him. “Will they let me know when his fifteen minutes is up…” He flinched as if she had slapped him.

“God, Donna…I…” He didn’t know what to say. She shook her head again.

“I just…I need a minute…I…” She was fighting to gain control of her emotions. She was fighting to keep from crumbling at Sam’s feet. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sam opened the door only enough to see Ronna standing outside.

“I’m sorry Sam,” she had concern in her eyes.

“What is it Ronna?”

“The President told me to find you and deliver you to the Situation Room,” her voice was deliberately low.

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” he nodded, shut the door, and turned back to Donna who was now starring out the window. “Donna…I have to…”

“Okay…”

“Do you want me to call Lauren? Or Annabeth to come and sit with you?” He asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and shook her head.

“No, I’ll be okay, Sam. I will…It’s just not happening how I expected it to…it feels nothing like I expected it to.”

“I know, Donna. I’m so sorry that I don’t have any more information for you…”

“It’s okay Sam,” she forced a smile. “I…I just need a minute to…”

“Stay as long as you like,” he kissed her cheek. “I’ll come to find you when I know more.”

She nodded silently and turned back to the window. It took every muscle in his body to force himself to leave her in that office and rejoin the President in the Situation Room.

* * * * * *

“Have we heard from him yet?” Arnold Vinnick demanded the second he was safely inside the embassy.

“I’m sorry, sir, we haven’t made any contact with Mr. Lyman or his agents,” one of the embassy staffers answered his inquiries.

“Have we sent anyone to the building?”

“We sent out a military vehicle to the building site…”

“I’m sorry, the building ‘site’?” Arnold interrupted the young man.

“Yes, Mr. Secretary. The building caught fire after what appears to be four large explosions. It has burned almost completely to the ground.”

“I think I need to sit down,” Arnold looked pale as he searched for a chair. Finding one, he lowered himself into it. “Has somebody called the President…has somebody told the President about Josh?”

“No, sir,” the young man answered looking down at the floor. “One of the explosions caused a tower to fall and we have lost all signal transmission at the embassy. The last word we were able to get to the President was that there was an explosion and that you were en route to the embassy. And that Mr. Lyman had not been located.”

“We’ve lost communication from the embassy?” Arnold looked from one staffer to another.

“Yes, Sir.”

“What the hell kind of operation…” He buried his face in his hands for a moment before looking up to his Secret Service agent. “What now?”

“Sir?” The agent looked confused.

“What now? We can’t find Josh. We can’t communicate with the President. I’m here at the embassy…what do we do now?” He felt completely out of control and more than a little frustrated.

“Sir, the plane is waiting on the tarmac. We are ready to board you and take you back to the US.”

 

“What about Josh?” His voice had a very childlike quality to it as his eyes filled with tears.

“Mr. Secretary,” the agent bent down next to the chair and looked at the older man. “Emergency protocol taught Josh that he had fifteen minutes from the point of emergency to get to the embassy or to make contact with the embassy. Fifteen minutes from point of emergency to wheels up.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Arnold rubbed his forehead. “At what point do we consider this to have become an emergency?”

“Since we received the call and told you to start packing.”

“And if he doesn’t make it?”

“Wheels up in fifteen minutes from emergency, Sir.”

“How much time does he have?”

“About seven minutes, Sir.” The Secretary nodded silently.

“What do I do in the meantime?”

“Sir, we need you to board the plane.”

“I can’t…” He stood and began pacing. “I don’t know if I can board the plane without him…I don’t…” The Secretary shook his head. “I wait right here until the fifteen…until his fifteen minutes is up…”

“Sir, it would be best if you waited on the plane…”

“No!” He yelled. “No! We wait it out here and THEN we board the plane! If you want to take me by gunpoint to the plane, then give it your best shot…but I am waiting here for Josh! I am waiting right here for Josh!” The agent nodded in silent agreement and stepped to the side as the Secretary pushed past him.

 

To Be Continued….


	13. The Journey-Chapter Thirteen

As he rounded the corner, he saw it. The embassy. Although it was actually under a mile away in distance, it felt like worlds away. His eyes fought to see through the dust and sand that was blowing through the air. His shoulder was aching and he had the beginnings of what was certain to be a massive headache. His throat was scratchy from the smoke he inhaled and he was simply exhausted; mentally, physically and emotionally.

The sun was beginning to rise and the citizens were beginning to rustle and the city was beginning to wake. He was unsure of what was going on in the world. He had no contact with anyone and the various thoughts about the state of the world were coursing through his mind. Despite the fact that they had just signed a Cease Fire agreement, he had no idea what was happening even two blocks from where he stood. When the explosion occurred, it killed the two agents who were assigned to him and effectively destroyed the vehicle they were to leave in. He had no idea if this was an isolated incident. He had no idea who caused the explosion and if they had other targets. He did not know for sure if Arnold Vinnick and his two agents had made it to the hotel, much less the embassy. For all he knew, the hotel could have been hit and the President, thinking his two delegates were dead, could be ordering troops into battle for all he knew. All he knew for sure was that he  
could trust nobody and that he had to get to that embassy as soon as possible. Using his good arm, he pulled his bad one protectively closer to his body and began down the streets.

When he had made it about half a mile, he began to feel an enormous sense of urgency. He suddenly felt the overwhelming need to sprint to the embassy, despite the attention it might cause. As if on cue, the sirens shrieked out, alerting the citizens to impending danger. Josh took that as affirmation and began jogging down the street, using his good arm to hold his bad one tight to his body. People began running for shelter as they heard the sirens and suddenly Josh appeared to fit right in. With a quick glance behind him, he could see the smoke still rising from the building he had just abandoned.

He looked overhead for signs of an air-strike and he was suddenly falling to the ground. Before he knew what had happened, he was slamming into the concrete below him. His good arm reached out to break the fall. He winced as the jarring alone caused shooting pain in his shoulder. He looked around for the cause of his fall and his eyes settled on his shoes where an untied shoelace mocked him. Despite his pain, he couldn’t help but laugh at the insanity of that moment. He rolled onto his back and his chest shook with his laughter.

“That’s great,” he said to nobody in particular. “Come all this way…survive the explosion…and die tripping over my shoelace!!!” With effort, he managed to sit up. Using only one arm, he was able to knot the lace and tuck it in enough that he was comfortable he wouldn’t be tripping over it again. As he pulled himself off the ground, he noticed a tear in his pants and felt a gash on his face where he had skidded against the ground.

The humorous trip aside, he suddenly became completely aware that the sirens were still sounding and people were still running. As he turned back in the direction of the embassy he heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire. He looked across the street and saw two men struggling with a gun that was firing shots randomly into the air. That was all he needed to be convinced that sprinting would be his best mode of transportation. Without another moment’s hesitation, he held his arm tightly and set out for his target less than half a mile away. His only thought was reaching the embassy and boarding the plane to hurry home to Donna.

* * * * * *

“Mr. Secretary,” an agent spoke softly as he approached Arnold Vinnick at the end of the hallway. He looked up at the agent and felt his stomach fall.

“Has it been…”

“I’m sorry, Sir. But it’s time for you to board the plane,” the agents strong voice and steady gaze made it clear that there would be no negotiating. Arnold nodded slowly and turned toward the window at the end of the hallway. He sighed and looked out at the city he was aching to leave.

“What happens if…” He trailed off and looked down at the floor.

“Sir, we need to leave. We need to leave right now,” the agent placed a hand softly on his shoulder.

“Okay…okay.” He gulped back the lump in his throat and turned to follow the agent down the hallway. His head was hanging low and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. Against his instincts, he allowed the agents to escort him out of the embassy and onto the tarmac.

“Mr. Secretary,” he looked up at the voice of the embassy staffer they had met before. “You did very well here sir. You can at least leave here with pride…knowing that.”

“Thank you,” he forced a smile for the young woman. “Thank you. You’re right…we did very well here and…” He trailed off as he looked up. “The Cease Fire!”

“I’m sorry sir?” She asked confused.

“The Cease Fire!” He turned to the agents.

“Mr. Secretary…”

“No, I forgot the Cease Fire…”

“Where?” The staffer asked.

“In my briefcase... I left it in the embassy,” he looked back at the building.

“Where did you leave it Sir? I can go and…” The staffer began, but Arnold interrupted.

“No, I’ll go get it…I want to go…” He turned and began towards the building. “I’ll be right back. I know exactly where it is.” One of the agents looked to the other. After receiving a nod, the second agent followed the Secretary as he hurried toward the building. They walked in silence through the corridors and to the end of the hall they had just come from. The briefcase was waiting right where he had left it. As he reached out for it, the agent stepped in front of him.

“I’m going to need to go through that, Sir.”

“Go through it?”

“Yes, it was left unattended and I will need to make sure it’s safe to take on the plane. It will be just a few minutes,” the agent took the briefcase and sat it on the nearest table. Arnold leaned back against the wall and watched as the agent flipped open the hinges to the briefcase. He glanced at his watch and smiled to himself, knowing it would mean at least another seven minutes before the plane could leave.

* * * * * *

“Sir, they have the Secretary at the embassy,” the General announced as President Santos entered the Situation Room with Sam on his heels.

“Is he okay?”

“He is.”

“Can I speak with him before he takes off?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, you cannot. The explosions have caused communication towers to fall and to fail and we have lost communications with the embassy and with the plane.”

“Lost communications?” The President was teetering between frustration and anger.

“Yes, Sir.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means, Sir, that we cannot communicate with either the plane or the embassy,” after a glaring stare from the President, he went on. “It means that we know that the Secretary has made it to the embassy and they are preparing to depart. We know the location of the plane because we can track it through our system. We will know when they take off…but we do not know…”

“We do not know if Josh has made it…” The President continued the General’s sentence as he slumped into a chair.

“No, Sir, we do not know if Josh made it,” the General looked from the President’s angered face to Sam’s bewildered one and back to the phone as they all waited for an answer to the chaos.

* * * * * *

“Okay, Mr. Secretary, the case is clear,” the agent turned to Arnold, briefcase in hand. “We need to get back to the plane now.”

“Okay,” Arnold said and began following the agent back through the corridors. “I do want you to know…I appreciate all that you do…and all that you have done…”

“Thank you, Sir,” the agent nodded as they stepped outside. “But my job isn’t done until you are back in the US. So, if you don’t mind, it’s time for you to board…”

“Oh my God,” Arnold interrupted starring off into the night.

“Sir, what is it?” The agent’s voice grew urgent as he followed the Secretary’s gaze.

“I don’t believe it,” Arnold muttered again and began moving towards the embassy gate.

“Sir,” the agent called hurrying after him.

“I don’t believe it…” The Secretary repeated and then broke into a full out run.

“Sir!” The agent broke into a run as well. “Sir!”

The agent caught up with the Secretary as they both slowed just before the gate. The Secretary was breathing hard but his eyes were wide and a smile began to play across his face as they looked through the gates at a man covered in dirt, sweat, and a little blood.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Arnold spoke as his voice choked up.

“You think you could hold off on the flirting and let me through the damned gates?” A smirk played across Josh’s face as he gulped back the lump in his throat. The agent with Arnold immediately began speaking into his wrist and suddenly the embassy hurried into action. A whole team of people hurried towards the gates as agents and a medic rushed around the gates towards Josh. The two men, the two friends stood rooted in their spots, both thankful to be looking at the other.

* * * * * *

It had been hours since this had all begun. Since the Prime Minister’s delegate had been found shot and killed. Hours. The President and Sam had been called into the Situation Room from the very beginning. They had been in there all day, constantly working between the Oval Office and the Situation Room. It was now later into the night and they were facing another silent hour. Although communications had gone down at the embassy as well as on the plane, the military was able to track the plane while those on board worked to fix the problem. The mood was at the very least, gloomy.

It had all happened so fast. They had barely made it back to the Situation Room before they received confirmation that Arnold Vinnick had made it to the embassy. The General in the room was finally able to establish that the plane was secure and had taken off. They were not, however able to establish rather or not Josh was secure and on that plane or if Josh had been located at all. For all they knew, he hadn’t.

They were exhausted; mentally, physically, and emotionally. Sam and the President sat at the table with creases in their foreheads and bags under their eyes as they went over the military maneuvers the Joint Chiefs were handing them for their approval. They had been working all night to avoid a war, to hold together what Josh and Arnie had labored over for so long. They had been working so hard that they barely had the chance to stop and think about Josh’s absence and what that meant. Sam felt the lump in his throat come back as he thought about it. At some point he was going to need to go see Donna. At some point he was going to have to leave the Situation Room and go to her and tell her the terrible truth.

“When will they land?” The President asked the General.

“They should be at Andrew’s in an hour sir.” The General nodded.

“Good,” was all he could mutter before an excited aid slammed down a phone. The President looked up quickly

“Sir,” the aid smiled. “Sir, they have repaired communications on the plane.”

“Oh my God. Are you sure?” His eyebrows went up.

“Yes, Sir.”

“How do we know?”

“We have a secure phone call for you,” one of the aids held up the phone.

“Would you put it on speaker, please?” The aid nodded and hit the button, bringing the call up on the speaker.

“Go ahead, Sir.”

“Arnie?” The President asked leaning on the table.

“No, sir, it’s not Arnie,” the voice rang out. Sam’s head snapped up. The President looked up at the General who looked back down at the phone.

“I’m sorry, they said it was a secure call from the plane, I assumed it was Secretary Vinnick.”

“Sorry to disappoint you Sir,” the voice was unmistakable and the smirk that went with it was undeniable. The President felt his throat go dry and looked to Sam for clarity. Sam, doing his best to hold it together, had none to offer.

“If you could identify yourself, please, Sir,” the General asked, noticing that the President was suddenly speechless.

“Joshua Lyman.” His voice was greeted with a quiet mumble throughout the room.

“Your ID number, Mr. Lyman?” The General had to follow protocol in order to open the call up to the Situation Room. Sam was holding his breath, dying to speak.

“S-0-5-6-2-2- 1-3.” The General confirmed the number with Josh’s ID card.

“And your Security word, Sir?”

After a brief pause, the broken voice said very clearly, “Wisconsin.” As the words fell into the room, Sam rose to his feet and the President sunk into his chair.

“Josh?” Sam called out.

“Sam?”

“Oh my God, Josh, we thought…we hadn’t heard from you…” Sam rattled off and then looked to the President.

“Josh, you’re on the plane?” The President asked.

“Yes, Sir.”

“And you’re okay?” Sam asked.

“Yes…”

“You’re sure?” The President asked.

“Well, apparently I broke my arm…and my head is killing me…and I tripped over my shoelace…”

“Josh…” Sam interrupted with a grin.

“I’m fine.” He cleared his throat. “Have you heard the good news?”

“Yes, we did.” The President beamed. “And we have been working overtime to hold up the agreement you two made…”

“I’m happy to hear that Sir. You know, they will want to come to the US…”

“Josh,” The President interrupted. “We’ll worry about the details later. You two just worry about getting home.”

“THAT I can do,” Josh grinned. “Sir, can I ask a favor?”

“You can ask for more than one favor, Josh.” The President was laughing now.

“I need…could somebody please…” His voice cracked. “Donna…I can’t get through to her office and I don’t want her to think…”

“I’ll take care of it,” Sam interrupted and looked to the President for his okay.

“Sam will go tell her right now,” the President instructed Sam. “And Josh, we will see you very, very soon.”

* * * * * *

The second Sam stepped out of the Situation Room he broke into a run. He hurried as fast as he could to find her. It was later into the night, but he knew she hadn’t gone home. He knew she was waiting for an answer, even if it wasn’t one she wanted. After flying past the Chief of Staff’s office and ducking into the Deputy’s office, he hustled through the lobby and into the East Wing. Without so much as a word to her assistant who held her post at her desk, he burst into Donna’s office. She jumped when the doors were thrown open.

“Sam?” She had been starring out the window and turned to face him.

“Donna…” He breathed.

“Sam, what is it?” She moved closer to him as he fought to catch his breath.

“I…Donna…” He cleared his throat. “Josh…”

“Oh my God,” one hand went to her throat and one grasped for her desk to steady herself.

“I need you to come with me,” he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.

“You need me to come with you?” She looked at him confused.

“Yes, right now,” he reached for her hand.

“Sam?” Her voice was suddenly very quiet and when he turned to her, he saw the tears forming. “What is going on? Josh…is his…are the fifteen…Sam…Is his time up?” She was whispering now.

“Yes, his time…”

“Sam…” It was more of a gasp than anything as her hand tightened around his. She could feel her heart drop from her body.

“No, Donna,” Sam shook his head realizing he was not being clear. “It’s not that…He…his time’s not up…I mean it is, but he made it…Donna, he made it to the embassy and he and Arnold Vinnick are on the plane back to the US. They will be landing at Andrew’s in less than an hour. He’s okay, Donna. He’s okay and he’s on his way home.”

“He’s on the plane?” Her knees suddenly felt very shaky. She gripped Sam’s arm. “He’s on his way…he’s on his way home?”

“Yes, Donna, he’s on the plane,” a grin spread across his face.

“Are you sure?” She searched his face with her eyes. She had never felt such range of emotion in all of her life.

“I spoke to him just before I came here. He’s on his way.”

“I…I think I’m going to fall,” she looked around the room and searched for something to ground her, something to pull herself together.

“You’re not going to fall,” Sam’s voice was strong and steady and he took her shoulders in his hands. “Josh is okay. He is on a plane right now and he will be home very soon.”

“He will?” She allowed the tiniest of smiles to play across her lips as fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

“Yes, he will.” Sam took her hand in his and turned towards the door. “And we need to leave. The President’s motorcade is waiting for us.”

“The President’s motorcade?”

“Yes, we’re going to Andrew’s”

“To meet Josh…”

“Yes, to meet Josh.”

“Oh God, Sam!” She exclaimed, flinging her arms around his neck as tears of relief fell from her eyes. Sam hugged her back and then kissed her cheek. She pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She was grinning from ear to ear.

“Shall we?” Sam opened the door for her, mirroring her grin. He followed her as she flew past him and headed towards the awaiting motorcade.

* * * * * *

They looked ridiculous, she had to admit. Donna couldn’t help but laugh at the scene inside the car as it made its way across town and to Andrew’s Air Force base. It was Donna, Sam, the President and the First Lady. They were all completely sleep-deprived and had matching goofy grins. They were laughing and smiling and completely giddy. If somebody from the outside had stepped into that moment right then, they would have though that the four of them were completely drunk and completely nuts.

When the car pulled through the familiar gates and came to a stop, Donna felt her breath catch in her throat. She could see the plane just outside the window. The grounds crew was moving fast to attach the stairs and to open the door. The agents opened the door to the car and the President and First Lady stepped out first, followed by Sam who reached his hand out to her. She felt a lump form in her throat as she took his hand and stepped from the car. The light breeze blew her hair around her face. She tugged it behind her ears and held tightly to Sam’s hand as the crew opened the door to the plane and people began to step out.

She stood there, rooted next to Sam as the President moved forward and greeted the pilot. She stood and watched as Arnold Vinnick stepped out and, after shaking the President’s hand, went directly into the arms of his grandchildren who had emerged from a large black suburban. She watched as crew members began to unload various bags and items from under the plane. She felt Sam squeeze her hand and she realized how nervous she had become. She bit her lower lip and rocked on her heels. She had been waiting for this moment for every minute that he was away, and now that it was approaching at warp speed, she no longer had control over her emotions. She squeezed Sam’s hand and took a long, slow breath, trying to calm her nerves.

And then she saw him. He lowered his head and ducked out the door. His arm was in a sling and his clothes were completely dirty, torn, and slightly bloody. And she was certain she had never seen his hair more unruly. She was certain she had never seen him look more gorgeous than he did at that exact moment. She closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself and then opened them again to find him.

He stopped at the top of the stairs and his eyes searched the crowd. The pain pills the medics had given him had worn off towards the end of the flight and his arm had begun to ache again. He could have taken more medication, but he wanted to be awake for this. He wanted to be coherent and cognizant for this moment. He was tired, and dirty, and ached for a shower, a hamburger and his warm, comfortable bed next to his wife. But he had waited for so long for this moment, and he wanted to be able to remember it.

And then he saw her. Their eyes locked and he immediately felt tears come to his eyes. She was holding tight to Sam, but raised her free hand in a small wave. As Josh lifted his hand to wave back, he flashed his goofy, dimply smile at his wife and began down the stairs. He tore his eyes from her only when he reached the bottom of the stairs and faced the President.

“Mr. President,” he said softly and stuck his hand out.

“Welcome home, Josh,” the President was clearly choked up as he took his hand and then pulled him close to hug him. Josh hugged the President with his one good arm and patted him on the back.

“It’s good to be back, Sir,” Josh grinned when the President pulled away.

“I’m so happy that you’re okay, Josh,” the First Lady moved in for a quick hug and kissed his cheek. “We’ve been so worried.”

“I’m just fine. Thank you, Ma’am,” he smiled, nodded, and turned towards Sam and Donna. Sam looked from Donna to Josh and back again. He squeezed Donna’s hand, patted it with his free hand and then dropped it slowly. She broke her gaze from Josh to look at Sam only for a moment, to tell him a silent ‘thank you’ with her eyes.

“I think you’ll be okay from here,” Sam said softly and stepped away from her side. He walked to Josh, put his hand on the back of Josh’s neck and pulled his friend to him in a hug. Without saying words, the two men pulled back, made eye contact and then Sam made his way to the President’s side, leaving Josh and Donna. Josh watched Sam walk away and then slowly turned back to meet Donna’s gaze, his grin still permanently in place.

“Hey,” she smiled at him.

“Hey,” his voice was low.

“You look terrible,” she scanned his clothing and cocked her head to the side.

“You don’t,” he shook his head and took a step toward her.

“The President tells me you two did well over there.”

“We did,” he nodded and took another step toward her.

“Sam did a great job, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded and suddenly felt herself trying to control the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

“Donna…”

“They all did a great job, Josh. Sam stopped by every day. Julie took me to the spa. Anabeth, Ronna, Ainsley…we went out for drinks. Your mother called me every night,” she took a deep breath and smiled. “Toby even came over and made me dinner.”

“Sounds terrifying,” he smirked.

“It was terrifying,” she wasn’t talking about Toby.

“Yeah…” His face was more serious now.

“We were so worried…” She trailed off and looked into his eyes.

“I know.” It pained him to see her so upset.

“I was so…afraid…these last few hours have been…”

“I know…” He nodded.

“Josh…” She scanned his face with her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“You’re home,” the smile hit her lips again.

“Yeah,” he grinned and dropped the bag he had been carrying. Without another word he closed the gap between them. His good arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her tight to him. “Did you know that there were exactly four floors between…”

“Josh…” Her voice was more insistent as her arms slid up his chest and around his neck. Josh bent his head and sunk into her as his lips met his.

“Yeah…” He spoke into her mouth as he sunk into her arms.

And there they stood. There stood the President, the First Lady, Sam and Josh’s partner Arnold Vinnick. The two men had returned home with a Cease Fire in hand and a new-found respect and fondness for each other. There stood Josh and Donna, clinging to each other with all they had left. Each so happy to finally be back in the arms of the other. Thankful for whatever factors in the universe had come into play to bring them to that spot.

There they all stood, thankful for the end of the Journey.

The End


	14. The Journey-Epilouge

“Donna…” Josh’s voice rang out into the dark room.

“Yes, Josh?” He could tell she was smiling.

“I can’t sleep.”

They had finally made it back home. It had taken him and Arnold Vinnick hours before they finally climbed into the cars that would take them home. They had met with the Secret Service to debrief. They had met with the President and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to debrief. They had met with the doctors to have everything checked out. After Josh had met with just about everybody he had to and had his arm set in a cast, he hugged Arnold Vinnick as they parted and climbed into the car with his wife.

They had ridden home in a comforting silence. Josh had grasped her hand the moment he had slipped into the car and he hadn’t let it go until they reached their house. The first thing he did was call his mother and assure her he was home and safe. Then, with Donna’s help, he managed to peel off his torn and dirty clothes and took the longest hot shower of his life. When the shower finally stopped, he called for Donna and she gingerly helped him towel off and slip into his boxers and a t-shirt, pausing to place healing kisses over the gash on his face. She had ordered Chinese while he had been showering and she had helped him eat it while she made promises of a home-cooked meal for the next night. Had she known he would be home…

After the shower, dinner and two beers, Josh began to feel his eyelids weigh down and they resigned to the bedroom. He felt as if he had been up for days. Initially he had been exhausted and thought for sure he would crash the second his head hit the pillow. But as he lay there starring at the ceiling, the events of the last few months were running through his head at warp speed. Suddenly he was wide awake. He turned his head to the side to see Donna watching him.

“I can’t sleep,” he told her again.

“Oh?”

“I don’t know why…I mean, I’m exhausted.”

“You have had quite a day, Josh. Maybe your body needs some time to come down from it,” she sat up and reached out running a hand through his hair.

“But I need to sleep. I want to get back to the office early and…” He sat up and leaned back against the headboard next to her.

“You’re not going back to the office tomorrow…today.”

“Donna…

“Josh, the President banned you from the office for at least 48 hours. I heard him say it.”

“I know he did…I just thought…” He shrugged with his good arm. “I thought it might be good to make an appearance. You know, let everyone know I’m back.”

“Oh I think they know you’re back,” Donna grinned.

“Yeah?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I think that if Sam didn’t wake them all, the President certainly did. They know you’re home, Josh. They’ve been waiting all night, most of them at the White House, to know that you’re home.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“Are you going to work tomorrow…today?”

“No,” she shook her head. “My boss told me to take the next 48 hours too…And I intend on spending every second of them with my husband.”

“Lucky guy,” he grinned.

“Yes he is.”

“What time is it?” Josh asked searching the room for the clock.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged.

“Where are the alarm clocks?”

“I unplugged them and tossed them in the closet.”

“Why is that exactly?”

“You don’t need to know what time it is. We don’t need to be worried about what time it is. We need…you need to sleep and relax and recoup…and not worry about what time it is. So, I tossed the clocks out of the bedroom,” Donna explained.

“You’re hilarious,” he laughed and pulled her to his side, wrapping his good arm around her.

“I know,” she grinned and settled close to his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing; listened to his heartbeat, silently thanking God that she had the chance to do that again. They sat in silence for a moment before Josh began.

“You know, when I was running back to the embassy, after the explosion,” her eyes flew open. She had heard him give details to the Secret Service and the Chairman, but they hadn’t yet talked privately about the trip. “There I was, running down the street, with a broken arm…and I actually tripped over my shoelaces…”

“What?” Donna looked up at him.

“I tripped over a shoelace,” he was chuckling at the memory. “I swear, Donna, I survived the explosion and managed to escape the burning building and there I was on the street, taken out of commission by my shoelace.”

“Are you joking?” She smiled and was happy to see him laughing.

“No, I’m not joking,” he shook his head.

“Well, don’t tell your mom that story.”

“Why not?”

“Well, she bought you those shoes…” Donna managed a small laugh.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “She would never forgive herself…” He trailed off and kissed the top of her head.

“Are you….do you want me to call Stanley tomorrow?” She asked cautiously.

“No,” Josh shook his head slowly. “They want me to meet with somebody from ATVA on Monday, but I think I’m going to be okay.”

“You didn’t have any…I don’t know…anything pop up while you were in there?” She asked. He thought back to the moment in the building with the little girl and felt tears come to his eyes. He gulped and smoothed her hair with his hand.

“Nothing from the shooting, no…” His voice was soft.

“Josh?” She straightened up and looked at his face. “What is it?” He leaned forward and ran a hand through his hair.

“In the building….when I was leaving…there was…” He sniffed. “There was this little girl. I don’t know…I don’t know what she was doing there, but she was hiding in a doorway and the fire…” He trailed off for a moment and looked down at his hands.

“Oh Josh…” Donna thought she was going to cry as she placed her hand on his arm.

“But she…we made it out okay. She let me pick her up and we made it out just before…” He rubbed his eyes and smiled. “It was so strange though…surreal.” He pulled her to his side again and held her tightly.

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and breathed in the smell of her hair. He sat there for a moment and collected his thoughts.

“You know Arnie brought me coffee.”

“What?” Donna couldn’t help but grin.

“Arnie, he couldn’t sleep one morning and he came to my room…I couldn’t sleep either, coincidentally.”

“And he brought you coffee?” Donna asked.

“Yeah, I thought you might find humor in that,” he laughed against her hair. They clung to each other, smiling like idiots.

“Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I have to tell you…” She trailed off.

“What? What is it?”

“I have been looking for your secret stash of junk food.” He burst out laughing and she continued. “I haven’t found it yet, but I think you should know that I don’t intend to stop looking until I do.” She was laughing now too as she pulled away to look him in the eyes.

“You do, huh?”

“I do.”

“God I’ve missed you,” his voice was raspy.

“Oh?” Her eyes were smiling as she leaned in to kiss him.

When her lips touched his, he felt his body stir. He had been so exhausted when he finally made it home that being physical, in any form, had been the last thing from his mind. But now, as his wife pressed up against him and her lips were caressing his, he felt his body nudge him in that direction. He opened his mouth against hers to deepen the kiss and heard a small gasp escape her lips. He smiled and brought his good arm to her neck, pulling her closer. He was suddenly wide awake. Donna moved to straddle his lap as he leaned back against the headboard and ran his hand up down her back to her hips.

“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered between the kisses she was planting across his jaw and down his neck. “This bed got very lonely without you.”

“My God, you feel so…” He sighed as he surrendered to the moment. She pulled back slightly.

“Do you think you’re okay to…” She arched an eyebrow.

“I think I might be…” He grinned from ear to ear. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do...well, I have this broken arm here…”

“What if I take on most of the work?” She lowered her voice.

“You would be willing to do that?” He teased her as he kissed behind her earlobe.

“Mmhmmm…” She closed her eyes and nodded. “And who knows, maybe we’ll tire you out so you can finally get some sleep.” Without another word, he leaned up and met her mouth with his. She tilted her head down and let the warmth wash over her as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

* * * * * *

When Donna woke that morning, her smile from the night before was still plastered to her face. She sleepily reached her hand out for Josh. Finding an empty spot, she opened her eyes and looked around.

“Josh?” She called sitting up. She rubbed her eyes and slipped out of bed. “Josh?” She called down the hallway. Pulling socks over her cold feet, she padded out to the living room where she was greeted by the smell of brewing coffee from the kitchen. She looked quickly to the spot beside the door where his running shoes sat and found that they were missing. Her smile deepened as she looked to the big, comfy chair where his old sweater lay, neatly folded with her book resting on top of it. As she slipped the sweater over her head, she heard the door open.

“Hey,” she grinned.

“Hey,” he grinned back as he kicked his shoes off.

“I didn’t expect you to go running this morning.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged and pulled his shirt off. “I thought a little routine might be nice.”

“Well sure, but with the broken arm and all…” She raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah…I only made it a block,” he smiled and shrugged with his one good arm.

“Ah, I see,” she nodded. “The coffee’s just about ready,” she pointed towards the kitchen.”

“I think it can wait another minute,” he smiled and pulled her to him. He tilted his head down and kissed her, softly at first and then with a bit more fervor.

“What was that?” She asked when they parted, breathless.

“A suggestion of a little something I would like to add to the routine,” he smirked and winked before lowering his lips to hers again. With a squeal and laughter, Donna leaned into her husband and held tightly to him. She would hold tightly to him forever.


End file.
